The Big Three of the Idris Institute
by Takara Phoenix
Summary: High school AU - Jace is the pitcher and captain of the baseball team and Simon is a nerd with a crush the size of New York. But now that Jace started dating Clary's older brother, Simon so has no chance in hell with the jock... right? Simon/Jace slash Jimon


Jimon || Shadowhunters || The Big Three of the Idris Institute || Shadowhunters || Jimon

Title: The Big Three of the Idris Institute – The Nerd and His Jock

Fandom: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments

Disclaimer: All rights to the Shadowhunters show reserved to Ed Decter, the books the show is based off and its characters belong to Cassandra Clare. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, past child abuse, jealousy, self-esteem issues, hurt/comfort, fluff, explicit sexual content, anal, praise kink, hetero

Main Pairing: Simon/Jace

Side Pairings: Seb/Jace, Magnus/Alec, Raphael/Isabelle, Bat/Maia, John/Lydia, Luke/Jocelyn, Simon/Clary (past), Simon/Maureen (past), Magnus/Camille (past)

Shadowhunters Characters: Jonathan Christopher 'Jace' Wayland, Simon Lewis, Magnus Bane, Alexander Gideon 'Alec' Lightwood, Isabelle Sophia 'Izzy' Lightwood, Clarissa Adele 'Clary' Fray, Sebastian Morgenstern, Lydia Branwell, Maureen Brown, Raphael Santiago, Maia Roberts, Bartholomew 'Bat' Velasquez, John Monteverde, Maxwell Joseph 'Max' Lightwood, Rebecca Lewis, Elaine Lewis, Jocelyn Fray, Luke Garroway, Camille Belcourt, Victor Aldertree

Summary: Simon was in love with the captain of the baseball team. Jace Lightwood, the son of the principals of their school and one of the Big Three, the most popular kids at school. And everything just gets unbearable when Jace starts dating the brother of Simon's best friend Clary.

 **The Big Three of the Idris Institute**

 _The Nerd and His Jock_

Simon Lewis was screwed.

And not in the fun way either. More accurately; he was screwed because he wasn't getting screwed. But the most accurate way to describe it would probably be to say that Simon was screwed because the guy he loved (maddeningly so) was getting screwed. By someone who was _not_ Simon. Granted, his problems had started _before_ the guy of his dreams had found a boyfriend.

It had actually started when Simon enrolled at the Idris Institute, a local fancy private school that was famous for its sports and arts programs. It was where all the problems started, because the principal of Idris Institute was Maryse Lightwood and the vice-principal was Robert Lightwood. The Lightwoods ruled this school. Truly and absolutely.

Not just through its principals, more so through the so-called Big Three of the school.

Alexander Lightwood, the captain and star of the archery team who continuously won competitions.

Isabelle Lightwood, the drop-dead gorgeous captain of the cheerleading squad, repeatedly bringing the team to nationals and winning trophies for their school. Also repeated winner of the science fair.

And lastly – the root of all of Simon's problems – Jace Lightwood, the captain and pitcher of the baseball team, who looked way too unfairly gorgeous in his tight outfit.

Jace Lightwood, with his heterochromic, amazing blue-hazel eyes that always had Simon in awe when he got the chance to stare into them because he could totally drown in them.

Jace Lightwood, with the full, pink, plush, way too kissable lips.

Jace Lightwood, with the undercut that left the top-part of his head with those long, golden-blonde hair that kept falling into his face all the time and made Simon want to gently push it out of the way.

Jace Lightwood, with the abs and deliciousness all over that Simon really wanted to lick.

Jace Lightwood, with that perfectly shaped unfairly sexy ass that looked even better in the tight pants he wore during training and games, making Simon want to pinch it (among other things).

Simon had been hooked on Jace Lightwood ever since day one and it only got worse with every single day. Hooked like Jace was a new designer drug and Simon was a helpless lab rat. The worst had really hit Simon when he had walked in on a practice of the baseball team and saw Jace in that stupid uniform and damn, how was that guy allowed to be so sexy? It should be illegal.

Now, Simon actually liked the school. He had made some really awesome friends like Maia, Magnus and Raphael. And for the longest time, Simon was actually perfectly fine pining from afar. Just cheering Jace on during every baseball game and ogling him during practice and generally daydreaming about how pretty and sexy and perfect Jace was. That had worked real well for Simon. Simon was used to it; he had spent all of middle school being hopelessly in love with his best friend Clary and that had passed too. After they went out for like three months during their first year at high school and realized they were so much better off as friends.

But then, one afternoon, things changed. Things changed drastically.

Simon had spent the night at the Garroway household, not an unusual thing for Simon to do at the weekends. Him, Maureen, Maia and Clary had marathoned _The Hobbit_ starting Friday after school and going late into the night until all four were knocked out. Simon had slept on the couch while Maureen and Maia crashed in Clary's room. But when Simon went upstairs to take a shower, he saw something absolutely heartbreaking when passing the room of Clary's brother Sebastian.

The door stood ajar and he could hear two muffled voices, so driven by his natural curiosity, he went to check on what was going on. He saw Sebastian, blonde hair messy and down to his boxers as he had another blonde crowded against the wall next to the window.

"Seb", hissed the other blonde. "I gotta go _before_ your dad wakes up."

"Ah, don't be such a spoilspot, Jace", teased Sebastian, face buried in Jace's neck as though he was attempting to leave a hickey. "Give me ten more minutes and I'll make you see stars, babe."

"Your dad is a cop. Your dad owns a gun. I'm not gonna get caught with my dick in your hand by your gun-owning cop of a father, Sebastian", hissed Jace, swatting at Sebastian's shoulder.

"You are no fun at all, Lightwood", drawled Sebastian as he captured Jace's lips in a siring kiss.

And that was when Simon turned tail and ran straight into Clary's bedroom, closing the door so loudly that both Maureen and Maia fell out of Clary's bed. Clary, who had been laying in the middle, sat up straight and yelped in surprise. All three girls looked around in confusion.

"...Simon? What's going on?", asked Clary, voice sleepy.

"Your... brother. And Jace. Your brother and Jace", whispered Simon, eyes large.

"...Are there going to be more words?", asked Maia as she looked over the bed at Maureen.

"Don't ask me, girl", shrugged Maureen and shook her head.

"You _dated_ the guy. You've known him for years. Don't you have like an inner translator for Simon-jibberish?", huffed Maia and rolled her eyes.

"Oh no. Which is why we broke up", snorted Maureen.

"Sebastian was _kissing Jace Lightwood in his room_ ", hissed Simon.

Both Maureen and Maia turned to stare first at Simon and then at Clary expectantly. Clary sighed.

"They've been... hooking up for a couple weeks now", admitted Clary softly. "They're sneaking around. I'm not even supposed to know. But yes, Seb and Jace."

"Holy shit", grunted Maia surprised. "That boy is in _trouble_."

"Wait, you didn't know either?", asked Simon surprised.

He knew Maia and Jace were best friends, in their own insult-filled way. "No. He's been secretive lately. Shifty. Been trying to corner him, but he's been avoiding me."

"But why does it matter to you, Si?", asked Maureen, raising one eyebrow.

Simon shifted awkwardly, eyes on the ground and cheeks heating up. He pushed his glasses up.

"You have a crush on _Jace_?!", exclaimed all three girls at the same moment.

Simon ducked his head and refrained from answering. Instead, he was pulled into a group-hug, accompanied by cooing and promises of ice-cream and chocolate. His girls were awesome.

/break\

Jace blinked blearily as he was shaken awake. "I'm up, I'm up. Where's the fire?"

"Downstairs", replied his brother drowsily. "But we generally call her 'Maia'."

"Wha...?", grunted Jace as he looked Alec up and down.

His older brother looked as sleepy as Jace, running his fingers through his messy hair. "Maia has been knocking down our door. You can be glad mom and dad aren't home."

Cussing beneath his breath, Jace rolled out of his bed and grabbed some random clothes to get at least half-way dressed before stumbling down the stairs where Maia and Isabelle were sitting in the kitchen and talking. Isabelle was still wearing her nightgown, both girls drinking coffee.

"Ah, there he is", chimed Isabelle teasingly. "I'll leave you love-birds to it."

" _Ew_ ", chorused both Jace and Maia at once, prompting Isabelle to cackle.

Alec grabbed a cup of coffee for himself and glared hard at Jace until the blonde grabbed his best friend and headed upstairs. Jace grumbled beneath his breath all the way up to his room.

"What the fuck, Maia? It's eight in the morning. On a fucking Sunday", groaned Jace. "Do you not know how to use a phone? You can _text_ , like normal people."

"Oh, shut up, douchbag", huffed Maia and grabbed a pillow to throw it at Jace.

"Seriously, what's your damage?!", groaned Jace. "I'm tired as fuck."

"Tired from fucking with your _boyfriend_?", challenged Maia, eyebrows raised.

"The fuck are you talking about?", asked Jace surprised.

"I was at the Garroways' this weekend", grunted Maia, poking Jace in the chest repeatedly. "And Simon saw you and Sebastian sneaking around and Clary confirmed this. I had to learn second hand that my best friend got a boyfriend. What's _wrong_ with you, Lightwood? I'm personally offended. You were the _first_ person I told about Bat when things started to... happen. And you don't even have the balls to tell me that you're dating the lesser Garroway? Fuck you, Lightwood."

Jace's eyes widened in slight panic. "Simon saw us and told you guys?!"

"Clary already knew. She's Sebastian's sister", snorted Maia and rolled her eyes. "And you're missing the point big times, Jace. Why didn't you tell _me_?"

She stood with her arms crossed, a glare etched into her features as he shifted nervously. "He's not my boyfriend. He _isn't_ , don't glare like that. It's just sex, okay? I'm using him to... get over some unrequited feelings and shit. But he _knows_ that. He offered. It happened during the last party we threw after the big game. I was shit-face drunk and so was he and he prodded until I emptied my heart and shit. And then he offered that we could fuck. No strings attached. Just... to get the other guy out of my head. Dunno if it's working yet, but the sex is great. Ouch! Why did you hit me?!"

"So there's a guy you're in love with and you didn't tell me. Again. This starts to become a theme and I will be hitting you. Hard. If you don't use more words", warned Maia irritated.

"What's with all the abuse before breakfast?", muttered Jace with a glare, rubbing his arm. "I just... I _know_ I got no shot with the... the guy I have feelings for. Which is why I don't want to talk about it. I don't want a pity-party. I know you're not one to throw around pity, Roberts. But... I just..."

Jace heaved a shaky sigh and slumped in on himself, looking tired all of a sudden. He knew how hopeless his feelings for Simon Lewis were, so he hadn't actually told anyone about them, not his siblings and not his best friend – and most certainly not Simon himself. Simon was such a smart, cheerful guy. Jace wasn't cheerful, not really, he was using it to hide all the darkness beneath. He also wasn't smart, not the way Alec, Izzy, Lydia and Simon were. Simon was a total nerd and it was probably the cutest thing Jace had ever witnessed. And he had witnessed _a lot_ of cute nerding out because Simon and Jace happened to share a best friend – which was exactly why Jace hadn't confided in Maia about his feelings for Simon. Jace was just a dumb jock, Simon was this cute, funny, sweet, smart nerd. This very _straight_ cute, funny, sweet, smart nerd.

Jace had seen Simon and Clary together. How perfect those childhood sweethearts were. He even knew Simon used to date Maureen Brown. And, petty as it was, the main reason why Jace had helped Magnus in his task of setting Maia and Bat up was because Jace had seen something blossoming between Simon and Maia and Jace _was a selfish bastard_ , which was all the more reason why Simon really deserved someone better. Only that Jace was too selfish to allow it. Well, okay, the bigger part of why Jace had helped set Bat and Maia up was because Bat was Jace's catcher and Jace had grown so damn tired of all the mooning he had to endure during practice.

Even on the low, low, _low_ chances of Simon actually being interested in guys – which, really, there was not even a hint of evidence toward that because Simon's track-record was all female – then Jace wouldn't be Simon's type anyway. Clary, Maureen, Maia – they were all the feisty, clever and yet sweet and caring (in their _very_ own way, in Maia's case) types. Jace wasn't feisty, he was just a bastard. He was tricky, not clever. And he definitely was neither sweet nor caring.

"You're a mess, Lightwood", whispered Maia after a long moment of observing him while he had drifted off deep into his thoughts. "Come on, you owe me at the very least breakfast."

Jace heaved a shaky breath and got up to follow her back downstairs.

/break\

"I expect you to be home when we call to check in with you. And _no boys_."

Luke narrowed his eyes as he stood tall, arms crossed stubbornly over his chest. Clary sputtered when her brother elbowed her with a broad grin on his face.

"You heard dad, sis. No boys", teased Sebastian with an air of smugness.

Luke narrowed his eyes and poked Sebastian in the chest with a finger. "That goes for the both of you, son. Don't think I didn't notice the blonde Lightwood sneaking out of your room. I'm a detective, Sebastian. And the next time I catch that boy sneaking out of your room, I _will_ drive him home. In the police car. To talk to his parents."

Now it was Sebastian's turn to sputter as he got elbowed by a snickering Clary. Jocelyn behind Luke heaved a sigh and shook her head a little as she watched her husband interrogating the children.

"You're _not_ ", stated Sebastian rather firmly, eyebrows raised. "You _can't_. Father, please."

Luke's expression softened a little as he looked at his stepson. "Embarrassing you children is the duty and privilege of us parents, Sebastian. You know that from your mother."

"Hey!", complained Jocelyn, hitting Luke's upper arm.

"It's not about embarrassment. His parents don't know he's gay", hissed Sebastian.

Heaving a sigh, Luke took a step back. "Very well. But there _will_ be consequences the next time he sneaks out of your room, you hear me? And no boys. No party. I asked Alaric to drive past the house at odd intervals to make sure you kids behave yourselves."

"Da—ad", groaned both Garroway-children with matching whines.

"We love you, we worry about you, we'll see you Sunday", stated Jocelyn lightly before kissing Sebastian and Clary on the foreheads. "And _we_ need to get going now, Luke."

"Right. Yes. You two, behave yourselves", warned Luke one last time. "Or we're going to hire Dot to babysit you again the next time we go somewhere. Don't think you're too old for a babysitter."

With that last warning did Luke and Jocelyn leave the house, Clary and Sebastian remaining in the hallway until they could hear the car start and drive off. When her brother turned toward her with a manic grin, Clary knew exactly what was coming. She sighed.

"You heard dad. Alaric is going to check on us", pointed Clary out.

"And then dad mentioned Dot and _that_ gave me an idea", smirked Sebastian knowingly. "He always had a thing for Dot. You're still in contact with her, right? Set her up for a date with him."

"...You're impossible", sighed Clary and shook her head as she reluctantly pulled her phone out. "I can _ask_ her if she'd be interested in a date with Alaric, but that's _all_."

"Oh, she is. She's been single for as long as I remember. And that's like... since you were four", pointed Sebastian out, wagging a finger at his sister. "She's not gonna say no to an attractive NYPD cop who's single, available and interested."

Clary still stared at him doubtfully even as she typed the message and attached a picture of Luke and Alaric from the precinct barbecue last month. Only the slightest squeak escaped her at the fast and eager reply from Dot. Shaking her head, she glared at her smug brother.

"I'll text Ric", smirked Sebastian. "And _then_ I'll text the others."

"You're an evil mastermind and it scares me", hissed Clary, shaking her head again.

"He—ey, I use my evil mastermind for good", laughed Sebastian delighted.

"Getting shit-face drunk with our classmates does not constitute as good", muttered Clary.

"Such a goody-two-shoes. Are we sure you and I are related?", drawled Sebastian.

"I doubt it. Every day of my life", sighed Clary dramatically as she hip-checked him.

Sebastian grinned after her like a lunatic as she went ahead to get ready for the party.

/break\

Simon had mainly agreed to go to the Garroway-party because Clary used the Kim Possible face. And then Magnus had knocked on his door, with that frighteningly sweet smile of his that told him 'You are in for a make-over and you will not get out of it'. After all, Magnus knew about Simon's feelings for Jace and Jace was totally going to be there too – and Magnus didn't know about Sebastian and Jace. But Simon allowed the crazy person that was one of his best friends to put him into uncomfortably tight clothes. Black pants, a button-down shirt with the top few buttons open, Simon's glasses replaced with the uncomfortable contacts.

And at first, Simon was even having a good time with Clary, Maureen, Magnus and Raphael. But then the Big Three waltzed in and hijacked the entire party with their overall Lightwood perfectness. Isabelle stole Raphael and Alec stole Magnus and Simon was left with his girls and had to watch Jace Lightwood look gorgeous and perfect. The golden-blonde hair wasn't slicked back and fell freely, gracing Jace's shoulders and making him look so prettily carefree and Simon felt so pathetic for basically worshiping the blonde jock who probably didn't even know Simon _existed_. And his eyes. Oh, Jace's eyes were probably _the_ most gorgeous things on this entire planet.

"Drink. _Now_ ", ordered Maia as she handed him a cup.

She had taken over the bar when her boyfriend Bat had taken over the music, claiming that the Garroways had no taste at all. Honestly, sometimes when Simon saw the two of them working so well together, he could totally see Bat and Maia owning their own club one day.

"Ye—es. Drown the sorrows, Lewis", ordered Maureen next to him.

Simon knew, rationally speaking, that it was a bad idea. Getting drunk when being sad rarely fixed things, but then he saw Sebastian casually slipping up the stairs after giving Jace a long look and Jace smirking back in return. Simon downed his drink in one go.

"I said drown your sorrows, not yourself", grunted Maureen wide-eyed.

For the next half hour, Simon drank, under careful supervision from his girls. At one point, he had drunk enough to feel the need to use the bathroom so he sneaked out from Clary's half-hug to go upstairs. He regretted that decision as soon as he rounded the corner toward the bathroom at the end of the hall, because next to the bathroom, up against Sebastian's door, were Sebastian and Jace. Or more precisely, Sebastian crowding Jace against the door, with Jace's legs wrapped around Sebastian's waist, Sebastian's hands on Jace's thighs and ass as Jace was lifted up and leaning against the closed door. Jace's head was tilted as Sebastian worked on a hickey, soft moans escaping Jace's kiss-swollen lips every now and again. Simon wanted to walk away, but he couldn't. He was frozen on the spot. Jace in the throws of pleasure like that was far too enchanting to look away, even though Simon wasn't the cause of it – would never be the cause of that.

"Don't tell me the line to the bathroom is that long", stated Lydia with a deadpan as she stepped up behind him just to pause. "Simon? Simon, either go inside or get out of my way, but Clary spilled her drink over my new dress and I _need_ to clean it out."

"I... I... Yeah. You can... go ahead", nodded Simon awkwardly and stepped aside.

The sounds of their voices gained them the attention of the two blondes. Jace was the first one, looking over Sebastian's shoulder to lock eyes with Simon for a brief moment and Simon thought he saw something flicker through those too beautiful mismatched eyes, but that must have been the light. Shaking it off, Simon turned around to go back downstairs where he got another drink from Maia before heading outside to get some fresh air. Taking a shaky breath, Simon sat down on the Hollywood swing, pushing off to swing softly back and forth.

It was stupid.

He knew it was stupid. He had already known about Jace being with Sebastian, so seeing them _again_ shouldn't affect him so badly. He had also known for years now that Jace was out of his league. Ever since they were still tiny fledgling freshmen, Simon and Jace both starting high school the same year, one year after Alec and Sebastian and one year prior to Isabelle and Clary. By now, Simon and Jace were juniors and Simon had two and a half years of time to realize that he would never be able to stand a chance with the gorgeous jock.

"What has you out here, sulking all on your lonesome?"

Simon jumped three meter high at the sudden sultry voice whispering into his ear. His eyes widened comically as he looked at Camille Belcourt, the beautiful ex-head cheerleader. The coach had passed that title on to Isabelle Lightwood this year, claiming that Camille needed to focus on her senior year and college prep. Everyone knew Camille did _not_ appreciate it.

"C—Camille", sputtered Simon nervously. "What... uh... can I do for you?"

She smiled – a sharp and cutting smile that had something deadly – as she let her eyes wander, looking past Simon through the window for a moment and tilting her head before her smile sharpened even more. Slowly, she ran a hand up Simon's chest, making him shudder.

"Why, does a girl need a reason to spend some... time with a pretty boy?", asked Camille.

Simon frowned, utterly confused by that, while she leaned in more and more until their lips met. Was this really happening? Camille was known as the Ice Queen around school. She _always_ had an agenda. And she certainly wasn't into nerdy dorks. Yet here she was, kissing him. And he felt drunk – not just on the drinks he had but also on this feeling, the feeling of being desired – so he leaned in eagerly, happy to try anything to lessen the aching hollow in his chest.

/break\

Alec glared bleary-eyed as he made coffee for his siblings and himself. He hated parties. He completely despised them. He was so not a fan of big groups of people and drunk people were even worse. But he didn't trust Raphael around Isabelle when both of them were drunk. And he sure as hell didn't trust _Sebastian Garroway_ anywhere near Jace. Period. With a scowl on his face at the thought of the cocky blonde, Alec grabbed the coffees to make some room-deliveries.

Honestly, he knew he was being an overbearing big brother here, but he also knew that Sebastian was not good for Jace. Sebastian hadn't taken Jace out on _any_ dates. He enabled Jace's very stubborn demand to stay in the closet. And all he _did_ seem to want from Jace was sex.

Which, okay, Alec was _the last_ person who got to tell others when to come out. He knew that. He had been in the closet for too long himself. But then he had met Magnus, fallen in love with Magnus and Magnus had helped him. Helped him feel comfortable in his own skin and then helped him find the strength and bravery to come out. And what Jace needed was someone like Magnus. Someone to love him unconditionally and strengthen him, make him feel better about himself, instead of feeding into his insecurities and allowing him to hide from them.

"Izzy. Coffee", stated Alec as he entered his sister's bedroom.

"I _love_ you, Alec", yawned Isabelle as she turned to face him, peeking out from beneath her blanket.

"I know", grunted Alec amused, an affectionate smile on his lips. "Try getting up before noon though. Mom and dad will return home some time after lunch and it'd help if you didn't look like a drunken body, Iz. I'll try resurrect Jace from the dead."

Only that a hungover zombie was _not_ what he found when he entered Jace's room. At first, Alec froze, on pure instinct. Jace crying was nothing new to Alec – Alec was the one to comfort Jace through his nightmares about his childhood abuse and Alec had even long-since gotten used to Jace _crying without making a sound_. Because Jace had it deep in his bones to expect punishment for the weakness of crying and that was one thing not even Alec with all the gentleness and comfort he had could fix. Only absentmindedly did Alec put the coffee down on the nightstand before walking over to the bed and sitting down next to Jace. Gently, he ran his fingers through blonde hair, gaining Jace's attention. Jace looked up at him like a miserable, beaten puppy.

"Jace...", whispered Alec hoarsely. "What happened? What did Sebastian do?"

"Nothing", grunted Jace defensively. "Seb isn't a bad guy, Alec. Stop antagonizing him."

"Well, sorry, but what else am I supposed to think?", huffed Alec frustrated. "You stayed even after Izzy and I left. To be with your... whatever you would call him. So it's not that far fetched." Alec's face softened as he laid down opposite Jace to look into his brother's face. "Talk to me."

Jace averted his eyes and stared past Alec. "I... It's not Seb. Seb's not my... boyfriend. We're just... fucking, okay? Don't give me the judgmental eyebrows, Alec."

"Okay, okay. I'll control the eyebrows, but... keep talking", requested Alec gently.

"Seb offered to help me get... over someone", whispered Jace, voice a little hoarse. "Someone I have... real feelings for. Feelings I've never had before. Not like that. But... the guy I want... doesn't... he... I know I don't have a chance wit him. So Sebastian and casual sex are a great distraction, but last night, at the party... I... saw him... kissing someone else. And it's stupid and dumb and I know that because he isn't _mine_ and he'll never be _mine_ and I saw him often enough with his last girlfriend, but it still _hurts so badly, Alec_."

Taking a shaky breath, Alec pulled Jace into a tight hug. "I... didn't know you liked someone."

"...Love", corrected Jace, barely audible.

Alec's eyebrows shot up. Jace had taken so many years to even accept the familial love he had toward the Lightwoods because his father had broken so much inside of Jace before the blonde had been adopted by Alec's parents. So far, all Jace has had were 'flings' and people he 'liked'. Alec could count the times Jace had told him, Izzy and Max that he loved them on one hand too. Because love was weakness, love deserved punishment. Alec wanted to _hurt_ Jace's father.

"Who?", asked Alec ever so gently. "Come on, tell me, Jace. It's clearly getting to you. I want to help you, in some way. Please. Who's the guy who stole your heart?"

"Simon Lewis", whispered Jace, face hidden in Alec's chest.

"...How?", asked Alec surprised. "H—Have the two of you ever even _talked_?"

"A lot", mused Jace softly. "But... he doesn't remember."

"What?", asked Alec, now clearly confused. "Does he have amnesia, or what?"

"It's been... too many years", muttered Jace and shook his head. "He was... the first... the first person to ever be _kind_ to me. Before I met you and Izzy and got adopted by your parents."

"Our parents", corrected Alec automatically.

"Right. Our parents", nodded Jace shallowly.

"How... did you and Simon meet?", wanted Alec to know, running his fingers through Jace's hair.

"At a summer camp", whispered Jace. "I was eight. Michael had important business away, told me to take me with him would be a burden so he sent me to a summer camp. I was... I was _terrified_. I wasn't used to other children. Roughhousing... got me into a lot of trouble because I didn't _understand_ it. I reacted extra violently because I took their attacks seriously. Got me into a lot of trouble with the cabin counselor. Rebecca Lewis. After the second time, she introduced me to her little brother Simon and told him to keep an eye on me. And Simon was just... so bright-eyed, happy and friendly. He wasn't bothered by my attitude and behavior, he just kept smiling and laughing, shrugging it off. When... I saw him again, first day of high school, I choked on my heart in my throat. I was... giddy and overwhelmed and just... wanted my first friend back, but... he didn't recognize me at all. And I chickened out. And I've been standing at the sidelines for two years now, watching him still be that cheerful, sweet, bright-eyed guy. Watched him be all over Clary Garroway, the fucking perfect childhood sweethearts."

"But... haven't they broken up...?", asked Alec cautiously. "Did they get back together at the party?"

"No. I saw Simon and _Camille_ ", spat Jace angrily. "With Clary, I... it hurt, but I was kinda happy that he was happy because they really were a disgustingly happy rom-com endgame couple. But Camille? She's a worse slut than I am! And I'm definitely prettier than that skank."

Alec hummed gently and continued holding onto Jace, listening to Jace's rambling and ranting until the blonde fell asleep in his arms. Gently kissing Jace's forehead, Alec got out of Jace's bed and tucked the blonde in properly. He headed out and back to Isabelle's bedroom.

"Breakfast?", asked Isabelle hopefully from where she was fixing her hair at her vanity.

"No. You and I have a mission", grunted Alec seriously, arms crossed.

Isabelle sat up straighter as she watched her brother through the reflection on the mirror. "What?"

"You and I are going to take our boyfriends and then we will _finally_ tear Belcourt into tiny little pieces", declared Alec, glaring darkly. "Something I've been dying to do for a year now."

It gave Isabelle enough pause to stop doing her hair and fully turn to face her brother, taking in just how serious he was. Camille Belcourt lived to torment the two of them. Isabelle for taking over her position as team captain of the cheerleading squad. Alec for taking away Camille's ex. Once upon a time, Camille and Magnus were the golden couple of the school. Now everyone was swooning over Magnus and Alec, claiming how perfect they were and how progressive this was compared to the 'jock and cheerleader' coupling most other schools had going on as their golden couple.

"I swear, if she tried seducing Magnus _again_ , I will bitch-slap her", growled Isabelle.

"No. Not Magnus", sighed Alec and shook his head, shifting a little. "She... kissed the guy Jace likes. And knowing Camille, it was not because she suddenly has an interest in geeky nerds-"

"Oh my gosh, Jace likes _Simon_?!", squealed Isabelle instantly.

Alec looked mildly impressed, eyebrows raised. "...Yes, he does. Don't spill it though. I don't think I was supposed to tell you. Anyway, her suddenly deciding to make out with _Simon_ is certainly another one of her little mind-games. So text your boyfriend."

/break\

Magnus was a little surprised when he got summoned by his boyfriend early in the day after the party at the Garroways. Alec knew Magnus valued his beauty sleep, particularly after a night of drinking. What really surprised Magnus however was Raphael and the fact that Alec was marching up to them with Isabelle hanging off his arm. The Lightwoods looked ready to march into battle.

"Who upset you and what fingers do you want me to break on them first?", asked Magnus sweetly.

"Camille. And _all of them_ ", growled Alec tensely.

Magnus and Raphael raised their eyebrows and turned to exchanged a look. The two of them went way back to elementary school with Camille. It felt like they had known each other for centuries. Things had really gotten messy in high school though, when Magnus and Camille had become more than just friends and Camille had broken Magnus' heart with the Russian exchange student.

"What did she do?", inquired Raphael gently as he wrapped an arm around Isabelle's waist.

She gladly leaned into him and smiled sweetly. "Toyed with our brother's heart."

"Didn't think he'd fall for Camille", frowned Magnus confused.

"No. Not like that. She's toying with the guy Jace likes and knowing Camille, I am a hundred percent sure that she's only doing it to hurt Jace and she's only hurting Jace to hurt me and Iz", replied Alec, still tense and stiff even as Magnus pulled him into a brief kiss.

"Darling, she is not the devil with an evil mastermind", tried Magnus.

"She is. And you know it", snorted Raphael and rolled his eyes.

"You're going to be good boys and talk to her, right?", asked Isabelle, batting her eyelashes.

Raphael chuckled, amused by his girlfriend. He tilted her head back a bit and kissed her softly.

"You and me both know that talking to Camille doesn't work", pointed Raphael out.

"That's why you're going to bring Alec and me", chimed Isabelle, something wicked and dangerous in her eyes and her grin. "And we will 'talk' some sense into her."

Magnus heaved a sigh, a frown marring his features. Raphael was right. He knew first hand what depths Camille was capable of and how much she could hurt a person. And he did have a certain kind of fondness for the cocky blonde who was too much like an attention-seeking puppy.

/break\

Said attention-seeking puppy found himself alone at home, dubiously suspicious of his siblings' whereabouts. So when the only sibling he did find was Max, Jace decided to make pancakes and bacon for them. If Isabelle and Alec left without a note, then they won't get breakfast.

"More bacon for me", chimed Max pleased as he set the table.

"Greedy", snorted Jace and rolled his eyes. "But right."

"You know, you promised me a movie marathon today as payment for me not rattling you out to mom and dad because you went to a party last night", drawled Max innocently.

"I swear, if you make me rewatch those stupid _Transformers_ movies one more time-", warned Jace.

"No!", huffed Max and stuck his tongue out. "I was thinking _Lord of the Rings_."

"...Alec will be so pissed", pointed Jace out with a frown. "You know how much he loves himself a good archer. And Legolas is his totally his second favorite after Oliver Queen."

"Well then, text him and tell him to hurry home before we finish the movies without them", shrugged Max with a grin as he dug into his pancakes.

"Baiting him. Mh", chuckled Jace mischievously.

"I think we could reinstall family TV nights", added Max with a frown.

"How are you gonna bait Izzy and Alec into that? You know how busy they are with their precious boyfriends", pointed Jace out, both eyebrows raised as he started to text Alec.

" _Buffy_ ", was all Max said with a casual shrug.

Jace huffed out a laugh and shook his head. "Really?"

"It's your favorite show. Don't try to deny it. It has kick-ass females for Izzy and... what was that? Magnus' favorite lesbian witch, so Magnus would watch with us too and that is a guarantee to make Alec watch it too. And if we really must, I think Raphael has a thing for vampires", stated Max.

"You are scary", stated Jace seriously, half a grin on his face.

Max shrugged, totally unapologetic. "You guys are so busy with all your teams and your _boyfriends_. I demand some attention from you too, you know."

Jace's face softened at that and he made a mental note to talk to Alec and Izzy about clearing one evening in their schedule to re-establish Lightwood Musketeers nights. Which was how those had started too; with BBC's _Musketeers_ and the four Lightwood siblings watching it together. But since the show had ended and Alec and Isabelle were so busy with their lovers, they really hadn't spend as much time with Max as they should. Jace missed that.

/break\

"You're tense as fuck and your form is off. I swear, if Garroway fucked you into a state of not pitching well anymore, I will personally cut his balls off and we'll use those for the next game."

Jace scowled at his catcher. Bat smirked knowingly at him, even though the fucker was totally _not_ right. It wasn't about Sebastian, damn it. It was about Simon. Still. Again. Always. But yes, Bat was also right. Jace needed to relax and get his head in the game before he would be in trouble with the new coach. The new coach who totally hated him anyway.

"I need a break", grunted Jace and rubbed his face.

"Looks that way to me. If you pitch like that during our next game, we can throw it right away."

Jace stiffened and hid the sneer on his face with his baseball cap, trying to not look at the new coach. Robert and Maryse had gotten the guy because he was apparently the best and their old coach, Coach Starkweather, had turned out to be a traitor who manipulated games and took bets. But Coach Aldertree was a _dick_. A huge giant dick. And while Jace loved huge, giant dicks in the bedroom, he didn't quite enjoy them on the field.

"Guess he's just not having that good a day, coach. Happens to the best", laughed Bat lightly.

Bless his heart, but it didn't affect Aldertree, who was now looking Jace up and down. "I wouldn't use the term 'the best' in one sentence with Lightwood though. You have a lot to improve on."

Jace gritted his teeth hard, grip on the ball in his hand tightening as he looked defiantly at the coach. The man had it out for him. Jace didn't even know _why_. Jace was the best player the team had – literally everyone at their school knew that, damn it. But the guy always took Jace down a notch, like he didn't want Jace to get a big head. Only that he just went too far. He was slowly getting into Jace's head, making Jace doubt himself. What if he was right? What if Jace really wasn't all that?

"You should stay longer today. Train more. You clearly need it", stated Aldertree firmly.

"No, he doesn't!"

Sudden silence befell the field at the loud, furious exclamation. The cheerleaders training next to them paused too, just like the rest of the baseball team who had been eavesdropping. Everyone was staring at the source of the voice. Jace gulped dryly, stunned as he looked at Simon Lewis who had gotten up from his seat on the bleachers, a surprised Clary sitting next to him and tugging on his shirt to make him sit down again. But Simon looked angry.

"Excuse me, Mister... Lewis, is it?", asked Aldertree. "But did you just question my decision?"

"Hell yeah I did!", called Simon back, glaring at the coach. "Jace is like the best player on the team! He's the best high school pitcher in the _state_. And you keep putting him down! You _suck_ as a coach! Your job is to motivate your players and not to belittle them. Jace works harder than anyone else on the team, he's always the first one here and the last one to leave! If you tell him to stay longer, he'll probably just stay the night and work through it. So... So... stop treating him like a bad player!"

Jace's face was beet-red and his heart was thumping hard as he continued staring at Simon.

"I will see you at the principal's office", growled Aldertree, displeased by the disagreement.

"Sure! Yeah, let's go to Jace's _mother and father_ and tell them how you keep insulting their son's play and how I was defending him! Let's see what they have to say about that!", agreed Simon.

"Damn, the little nerd's on fire today", laughed Bat softly next to Jace.

Jace barely managed to nod. Were those actual pink hearts and flowers around Simon or was the heat just getting to Jace...? All he could do was stare at Simon in stunned silence until the bell rang and Simon basically hightailed with Clary struggling to keep up with him.

"What... just... happened?", asked Jace softly, clearly confused.

/break\

Simon stood with giant eyes, back leaning against the solid wall behind him. Clary was standing in front of him with a concerned look on her face and only moments later did the door to the roof open for Magnus, Raphael, Maureen and Maia pouring out to join them.

"Simon? Are you alright? Clary sent us an SOS", exclaimed Maureen concerned.

"I—I... I...", stammered Simon, dwelling in the sudden panic of what he had done.

"He called Coach Aldertree out on being an asshole. In front of the _entire_ baseball team _and_ the cheerleading squad", elaborated Clary, gently patting Simon's shoulder. "And I think it just caught up with him that he did that in front of all those people and talked to a teacher like that."

"...Why would you _do_ that? You have that man in PE tomorrow", grunted Maia pointedly.

"B—Because he was... he was getting on Jace's case again", muttered Simon miserably. "I've had to watch him put Jace down for _weeks_ now, never having a single good word!"

"It's not like Jace can't take it", snorted Raphael lightly. "That boy has more ego than Magnus."

"I take offense to that", huffed Magnus with a glare at Raphael before turning to Simon. "Though he's not quite wrong. Jace can stand up for himself, Simon. No need to get into trouble."

"No, he can't", argued Simon with an upset frown. "Ever since Aldertree joined the school, Jace has been here at the crack of dawn and sometimes trained until nightfall!"

"...Are you stalking Jace Lightwood?", asked Raphael skeptically.

Simon's face turned so red, it was a wonder he didn't topple over from all the blood suddenly in his head. "I—I just _happen_ to be here to use the music room! And the music room _happens_ t—to have the perfect view on the baseball field and that is so not my fault and I-"

"Simon, do you _like_ Jace?", asked Magnus with wide eyes.

This time, Simon did topple over, hitting his forehead against Clary's shoulder to welcome her comforting embrace. She patted his back while Magnus gasped at the silent confirmation.

"So you... like Jace?", asked Raphael slowly, eyebrows raised. "Jace Lightwood?"

"How many more Jaces do you know?", drawled Clary pointedly.

"That is so romantic", chuckled Magnus fondly, eyes sparkling. "You defended the boy of your dreams in front of half the school. That is so sweet. Does Jace know?"

"O—Of course _not_!", exclaimed Simon high-pitched. "I stand no chance with Jace! Jace is _perfection_! I—I can't make a fool of myself by _telling_ him about my embarrassing feelings!"

"Sure, but standing up to the coach for him in front of an audience, that wasn't embarrassing", snorted Maureen, both eyebrows disappearing in her hairline.

"Not to mention... maybe even _Jace_ caught on with that", muttered Maia lowly.

Simon whimpered pathetically and slid down the wall to crumble. Clary shot Maia a look.

/break\

Jace was sitting outside in the garden, legs drawn up and arms around them as he stared out into the distance, mulling over the day. He hadn't been able to concentrate since this afternoon, when _Simon Lewis had gotten up and defended him_. Honestly, he still didn't know what to even do with that.

"Hey, Jace. I made you hot chocolate", whispered Isabelle gently.

She had been there and she had thrown concerned glances at him ever since, because he seemed out of it. She probably assumed it was generally about him being defended because Jace still wasn't used to that. He was used to fighting his own battles and to seeming as cocky and arrogant as possible like nothing ever affected him and no one thought he gave a damn about anything someone could say about him – even though he took it all close to his heart.

"I just wanna check on Jace before we go, Magnus", whispered Alec from the living room.

"Check on Jace? Is he alright?", asked Magnus concerned.

"Dunno, but Izzy just made him hot chocolate and that's never a good sign", offered Alec.

Jace huffed into his hot chocolate as Alec and his boyfriend joined them outside. Alec frowned and grabbed a blanket to lay around Jace's shoulders because it was getting cold outside.

"I'm fine", grumbled Jace irritated.

"Really? Because you don't look so fine. Iz?", asked Alec, turning to their sister.

"Something happened at training", offered Isabelle gently, patting Jace's shoulder.

"Don't tell me Aldertree again", grumbled Alec with a glower.

"Partially", shrugged Isabelle, eyebrows knitting. "But then, all of a sudden, Simon Lewis got all up in Aldertree's face about backing off from Jace and leaving him alone."

"...Simon?", whispered Alec, raising his eyebrows as he sat down slowly.

Magnus frowned, watching the three siblings slowly. "And why is that a _problem_?"

Isabelle opened her mouth, before she turned to look at Jace quizzically, the blonde shrugging indifferently, knowing that Magnus was basically family at this point, so whatever. And what Isabelle was assuming to be the problem wasn't the _real_ problem, after all.

"Jace isn't very... used to people defending him. He had a rough childhood, to say it lightly. And aside from Alec and me, have you _ever_ seen anyone take Jace's side? Everyone always gives Jace shit about everything", huffed Isabelle with a slight glare.

"Jace?", whispered Alec very gently as he grasped Jace's shoulder.

He locked eyes with Jace, asking silently if he was really alright. Because Alec knew that Jace had _feelings_ for Simon, which only made this whole thing so much more impactful for Jace.

"He... sounded like he actually _cares_ ", whispered Jace lowly, fingers clawed into his pants. "About me. Like he's been... paying attention to what I do. Who I am."

"And that is such a traumatizing realization?", inquired Magnus surprised, one eyebrow raised. "And here I thought that you perceived yourself as the center of this school and that everyone is constantly fawning over you, golden boy."

"Not _him_ ", growled Jace irritated and defensively. " _He_ doesn't care. He hasn't even _spoken_ to me since we entered high school! He doesn't care. So maybe he doesn't _hate_ me after all, but... still..."

"What makes Simon Lewis so special?", asked Magnus curiously, intrigued.

Isabelle too inched closer and even though Jace wanted to keep it close to his heart, he also knew that telling Alec had helped ease a certain burden. Maybe if he told them, it'd get a bit better?

"What... Izzy said, it was a pretty big understatement. My father was an abusive asshole. I was home schooled. I... didn't have _friends_ as a kid. Simon Lewis? He was my _first_ real friend, when we met in a summer camp. But I hadn't seen him in years and... when I saw him on the first day of high school, I was excited, but he... he's been treating me like air! Like he doesn't even know me! So why should he _care_ , because he obviously _doesn't_ ", confessed Jace, at least half the truth.

"I... didn't know that", whispered Isabelle and pulled her brother into a tight hug.

"Well, whatever. Doesn't matter. He had a ton of friends as a kid, he was _so_ popular. Figures he doesn't care about the guy who put him on a fucking pedestal as a kid just because Simon was being _nice_ to me", sneered Jace, angry with himself, clinging onto his sister.

Magnus watched them with gentle but thoughtful eyes. He had some investigating to do.

/break\

Simon was laying sprawled out on his bed, with his guitar sitting next to him untouched. He had meant to work on his music, but all he could think of was Jace. And Aldertree. The coach from hell had made Simon run so much today in revenge for yesterday that Simon could feel every single muscle in his entire body burning with pain. Knocking on his door interrupted his session of wallowing in self-pity. Turning his head a little, he waited for the door to open.

"Magnus?", asked Simon surprised when his friend entered.

And sure, they were friends, but Simon couldn't remember Magnus ever having been over at his place. The two were more like... school-friends, not really outside-of-school-friends. Magnus looked around curiously while approaching Simon. In the end, the eccentric boy sat down on Simon's chair, facing Simon with a surprisingly judgmental look on his face.

"You forgot the part where you and Jace are literal childhood sweethearts", chided Magnus.

"What?", grunted Simon confused, slowly sitting up.

"I was over at the Lightwoods' yesterday", replied Magnus cautiously, tilting his head. "And I learned a fascinating piece of history. You two used to be _friends_."

"Nonsense", snorted Simon, furrowing his brows. "We never met before entering high school."

"Not according to him", chimed Magnus. "He said you two met at a... summer camp?"

Simon's frown deepened as he opened his mouth to protest, just to pause. "I mean... I had _a lot_ of... acquaintances in summer-camp. I used to go every damn year. Mom made me and Rebecca go all the time. But it got downright unbearable when Rebecca was old enough to be a counselor at camp. But I'd totally remember if I had known Jace Lightwood as a kid. No way."

"If you say so", hummed Magnus, nodding. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to pick Alexander up from practice and take him out on a date. See you tomorrow, Simon."

Simon stared after Magnus as the other boy left the room. No. This couldn't be. Among the many, many people Simon had met during the years of summer camps, there was so no way that he had met Jace Lightwood. Right? Growing unsure, he slowly got out of bed and went to search for his mother. He found her in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

"Mom?", asked Simon softly.

"What is it, sweetie? Did Magnus leave already or will he be staying for dinner?"

"Magnus left. Has a date with his boyfriend", grunted Simon and shook his head. "I... I was wondering, where do we keep the photo books? From when Becky and I were kids?"

"In the... basement, I think. Somewhere, in a cardboard box, should say the years on the front...", shrugged Elaine with a frown. "Why do you ask?"

"Just... feeling nostalgic", replied Simon with a shake of his head. "Thanks, mom."

"Don't get lost in the 2000s for too long. Dinner will be ready in half an hour!"

Simon nodded in confirmation and headed down to the basement with determination.

/break\

Today was not going to be a good day, Jace knew it. He had been at school since five in the morning, doing extra training. Bat had joined him at about seven, bitching and whining about having to get up so early in the day. After a very long, hot shower, he tried to prepare himself for the school day. But he barely made it to his locker before he had Simon Lewis all up in his face. All Jace could do was stare wide-eyed and confused at the upset looking nerd. What was going on?

"Your name isn't Jonathan!", argued Simon irritated, pushing a photo into Jace's face.

Backing off some, Jace took a look at said photo. His eyes softened. Simon and Jace at age eight, smiling brightly into the camera, Jace having an arm around Simon's shoulder. Jace remembered that. Simon's big sister had taken the photo and she had brought Jace a copy for too. Jace had it standing framed on his nightstand, together with the family photos.

"...After all those years, _that_ is the first thing you're gonna say to me?", snorted Jace with a slightly cynical half-smirk. "And yes, my name is Jonathan. Jonathan Christopher. JC. Jace."

"That... That makes... sense", muttered Simon with a thoughtful frown before growing more determined and poking Jace in the chest once more. " _But_ your last name is Lightwood! Not Wayland! You—You're not Jonathan Wayland. You're Jace Lightwood."

Gritting his teeth, Jace stared intensely at the photo still being held up in front of him. "Lightwood is the name of the family that _adopted me_ when I was ten. Before that, I was Jonathan Wayland."

Simon glared at him doubtfully, looking from the photo at Jace. "I mean... I mean if I look at the picture now... I... you have the same heterochromic eyes. But I was like _eight_ back then and I didn't really make a habit of deeply staring into another boy's eyes. And it's been like nearly ten years!"

"...Are you trying to tell me that you... didn't recognize me?", tried Jace to sum up.

"Yeah", grumbled Simon, looking like a kicked puppy. "I mean, it's really been a long time. And we only knew each other for like one summer! I swear I totally didn't forget you, but I also didn't _recognize_ you. You don't exactly look like you did when you were eight, you know?"

Jace's heart fluttered at the thought that Simon _hadn't_ forgotten him and that Simon actually even still had the photo of the two of them. "So... what made you realize?"

"Magnus", supplied Simon casually. "And then I went digging and... really, I swear I didn't _forget_ you. But... But why did you never say anything? At all?"

Jace bit his lower lip hard as he shrugged, trying for casual. "When you kind of... ignored me, I figured you just... didn't want to be friends anymore, you know? Since it's really been a long time. So, I took a hint and stayed away, I guess. Like you said. It was just one summer. And it's been nearly ten years. So, yeah... and since you were the popular kid back then and I was the awkward outsider, I figured you just... you know... were friends with me back then because your sister said so and that you didn't _have_ to anymore. So I... decided to respect that, I guess."

Simon's eyes widened comically as he realized that Jace thought Simon had deemed himself too cool to hang out with Jace. Which, to Simon, was a wildly unrealistic picture to paint. Simon too cool for _anything_ was odd, but too cool for _Jace_?

"I didn't befriend you because Becky told me to!", blurted Simon out right away, looking highly offended. "You were the _coolest_ kid at camp! You were like five years ahead of everyone else with the cool-factor! No. I swear, if... if I had realized that you're Jonathan, I'd have followed you around like a totally lost puppy for a year straight. Literally, because I didn't know anyone at this school and Clary only got into high school a year after us! I would have totally been the embarrassingly clingy friend, I swear. God, why didn't I notice?"

Jace blinked, a very small, soft smile finding its way onto his lips as he stared at the displeased nerd in front of him, being way too cute for his own good. "You... really mean it?"

Hazel eyes hardened in determination and the next moment, Jace found himself into an all-engulfing hug. Really, Simon hugged as though he had at least trice as many limbs as he actually did have. It felt as though Simon was completely surrounding Jace from all sides. And it was... nice.

"That's it. That totally settles it. This morning, I was like nervous and thought that maybe perhaps if we talked about this we could like... try and be friends again, but this totally settles it. We _are_ friends. So. There you go. We are now officially friends again so no arguments allowed!"

Blinking doe-eyed, Jace just allowed himself to be hugged by the determined nerd. "Uhm... uh... o—okay. Sure. If you, you know, really want to."

" _Ye—es_ ", huffed Simon highly offended. "You are now officially my friend."

Jace hid his happy little smile in Simon's neck. "Okay."

/break\

Alec was sitting with his feet in his boyfriend's lap while leaning against his best friend's side. He had his chin resting on Lydia's shoulder to look into the book she was reading. When she wanted to turn the page, he grunted slightly, causing Lydia to pause and wait for him to catch up. Magnus all the while was running absentminded fingers over Alec's calves in a soothing manner. With half an ear, Alec listened to how Magnus was talking to Raphael and Isabelle. Raphael and Isabelle sat opposite of Magnus and Alec. On Isabelle's other side was Jace, who seemed not up to conversation today. He had been oddly distracted all morning, if Alec was being honest.

This was how they usually spent their lunch-break. Occasionally, Bat Velasquez and/or Maia Roberts would join them too, since Bat was Jace's pitcher and Maia was Jace's best friend.

So when he heard Maia's voice approaching, it didn't surprise Alec too much. The other voices with her did, though. Frowning annoyed, he looked up. Magnus, Raphael and Isabelle talking quietly was one thing, it was nice background noise to Alec and Lydia reading their book. But this was just obnoxious. Alec's eyes widened at the four people approaching them.

"-And I swear, Bat looked like a kicked puppy when his ice fell to the ground", snorted Maia.

"Aw. He's really a sweetheart", grinned Maureen fondly. "You got a good one there."

"I know", chuckled Maia, small smile. "Scoot over, Lightwood."

"She totally doesn't deserve Bat. Bat's too good and pure for her", growled Jace as he scooted over.

Very unimpressed by him did Maia roll her eyes before they all sat down. Clary and Maureen sat down on Lydia's other side, while Simon and Maia sat down on Jace's, one on each side of Jace, Maia squeezing in between Jace and Isabelle. Alec frowned curiously at _Simon Lewis_.

"Bat is neither good nor pure. You clearly have never played Mario Kart against him", huffed Simon, pushing his glasses up and regarding Jace pointedly. "He's a dirty little _cheat_. And I have the urge to rinse his mouth with soap every time he loses. Like, seriously."

"Dude. You're aware I play baseball with him, right?", grunted Jace, both eyebrows raised. "I know how he can cuss up a storm when we lose, yeah."

"So, is anyone gonna tell me why we're sitting here?", asked Maureen after a moment.

"I don't know. I was just following Simon", shrugged Clary as she started eating.

"Oh. Yeah. Jace and I are now friends", nodded Simon with a serious frown.

Conversation around them died down as everyone – Maia, Maureen, Clary, Lydia, Alec, Magnus, Raphael and Isabelle – turned to stare at Simon and Jace with surprised eyes. Jace ducked his head, running his fingers through his hair in a nervous habit, particularly at Alec's intense gaze.

"How did that happen?", inquired Lydia, slowly closing the book she was holding. "Simon, blink three times if Jace is blackmailing you into this. Alec will have serious words with him then."

"Ha, ha, ha. So funny. You're spending too much time with Alec", deadpanned Jace.

"Oh. Everyone is sitting together. That is so beautiful. I will not have to chose between the love of my life, the sunshine of my days and moonlight of my nights-", started Bat teary-eyed.

"-and your girlfriend", interrupted Jace before Bat could finish, broad grin on his face. "C'mere."

Maia rolled her eyes and flipped him the bird as the Latino walked over to try and squeeze in between Maia and Jace. Alec narrowed his eyes as he looked at them. The bench could comfortably host five people – as it did on Alec's side, with Maureen, Clary, Lydia, Alec and Magnus – but with six people, it was a tight fit. Raphael on one end looked displeased, pulling Isabelle half onto his lap, while Simon on the other end tried to prevent falling off by sitting very close to Jace.

"Ah, yes. You and I. True love", agreed Bat, batting his eyelashes at Jace.

"Just waiting for you to dump Maia", smirked Jace with a wink.

"Know how you can show me how much you love me, goldilocks?", drawled Bat. "Pitch better."

Jace inhaled sharply and grasped his heart. "See. This is why we can't have nice things. You always ruin everything. Urgh. No. Maia, you can keep him. I'll find someone better."

"Jeez, how generous of you, Lightwood", drawled Maia unimpressed.

"Are you guys always like this?", asked Clary clearly amused.

"Half the time, I expect Bat and Jace to make up on the tabletop, yes", drawled Lydia with a sigh.

"Bat and I, we are soulmates", argued Jace seriously. "And you wouldn't understand. You don't know the special bond between a pitcher and his catcher. We have our own language and know each other's bodies – not like _that_ , stop snickering and get your mind out of the gutter, Isabelle."

"Of course. Whatever helps you sleep at night", chuckled Isabelle mischievously.

/break\

Somehow, for the rest of the week, it had become a normal thing for Simon, Maia, Clary and Maureen to sit with them. And it changed their regular seating arrangements. Clary and Maureen had taken to sitting on Isabelle and Magnus' side, while Simon found himself between Raphael and Jace, with Bat and Maia on Jace's other side. Jace had grown frighteningly accustomed and fond of sitting with Simon. It made the blonde's heart speed up in a ridiculously stupid way.

But what Jace had not expected was to open their door on Saturday morning to find a brightly grinning Simon standing in front of it, bouncing on the balls of his feet. It was roughly past nine and thus way too early for Jace to be awake. Isabelle was out brunching with Lydia, Clary and Maureen this morning, while Alec was staying over at Magnus', Max having been taken with their parents to France for a trip to their partner school. Meaning Jace was the only one at home who could end the obnoxious ringing of their doorbell. But if he would have known it was Simon, he would have at least tried to comb his hair and maybe put on a shirt – he was only wearing his sweat-pants.

"...Simon?", whispered Jace slowly, rubbing his face.

Simon was struggling with words. Words were already hard when he was watching Jace train, but standing in front of a half-naked Jace? His brain was _gone_. Jace was just wearing low-riding sweat-pants, revealing that well-defined torso and his hip-bones and his arms and just generally all of his Jace-ness. And since the blonde had obviously only just woken up, his hair was not yet styled, not slicked back. Instead, the golden-blonde strands hung freely into Jace's face. Simon had the intense urge to brush it out of Jace's face and tuck it behind his ear.

"Did you... want something? Or are you okay just standing there?", drawled Jace after a moment.

"Right. No. Sorry. Uhm. I brought bagels and coffee?", offered Simon with a sheepish grin.

"Still feel like I'm missing something", pointed Jace out with a frown.

"So. I like hanging out with you during lunch breaks and all, but ever since, you know, I've had a million questions in my head. But I didn't want to ask them with everyone else around. And Clary said Isabelle is out with her and Magnus told me Alec is staying with him, so that means not even your siblings are here and I figured we could like... talk", elaborated Simon nervously. "I—I mean, only if you want. It's probably real personal questions and I get if you don't-"

"Just come in, Simon", sighed Jace and stepped aside, stifling a yawn. "Kitchen is down the hall on the right. I'll just... go and get dressed. Be with you in five. Make that ten."

Nodding hastily, Simon walked past Jace and made his way to the kitchen. He put the stuff he brought down onto the table and started looking around curiously. It was an expensive kitchen – it was an expensive _mansion_ – and it looked completely spotless. To keep himself from snooping, he sat down firmly, trying to just look and not touch. Waiting had never been his strong-suit.

"So... I make mean scrambled eggs with ham. You want some?"

Simon startled as he looked up at Jace entering the room. Sadly enough, the blonde was now wearing a shirt, but at least his hair was still falling freely and looking insanely pretty. Blinking slowly, he watched how Jace went to the fridge and then got everything out.

"Don't worry. It's turkey ham. That's kosher, right?", continued Jace after a moment.

All Simon could do was blink. "You... remember that I'm Jewish?"

Jace blushed and turned away to get started on the scrambled eggs. "So, do you want some?"

"Uhm. Yeah, sure", nodded Simon hastily.

"You wanna talk while we eat, or start now?", asked Jace as he cracked some eggs.

"Well, I mean, if... if you don't mind?", shrugged Simon, eyes fixed on Jace.

It was beautiful to watch how fluently Jace moved through the kitchen, getting out pans and knives and plates. Not to mention how domestic this was. Serene too. Simon really, really liked it.

"Just... ask your questions, Simon. I can still just not answer when I hear them", shrugged Jace.

"Yeah. Totally. I mean, I'd get it. It's... really personal and all and you and I don't _really_ know each other – even though you seem to have remembered that I'm Jewish and I totally didn't expect that – and it'd be totally okay if you don't wanna answer them, but I really wanna know because I want to get to know you. Really. I want to know everything there is about you", babbled Simon nervously.

"Simon. Shut up and ask your questions", grunted Jace fondly.

"That doesn't work. I can't shut up _and_ ask questions", pointed Simon out before receiving a pointed look from the blonde. "Right. Sorry. Okay. So... uhm... How... How come you never... forgot me? I'm sorry, it seems like a stupid question to you probably, but I really can't shake it. That... That you thought I thought I was too... _cool_ to hang out with you?"

"You are the coolest person I ever met, Simon Lewis", whispered Jace softly.

"Yeah. That doesn't compute", grunted Simon and scrunched his nose up.

"Simon, you don't get it. You were the _first person_ to be nice to me. That... That made you the coolest person I could _ever_ picture", muttered Jace lowly, focusing on breakfast.

"...I can't have been the 'first' person to be nice to you", argued Simon unsure. "Right? You... Your parents, right? What... What's with them? Your biological parents? Why...?"

Jace paused, posture stiff, and Simon feared he had asked too much. He was already opening his mouth to assure Jace that he didn't have to answer anything he didn't feel comfortable sharing, because even though Simon wanted to know _everything_ there was about Jonathan Wayland and Jace Lightwood and how one became the other, he wanted to learn it on Jace's terms and not force it.

"My mother died before I was born", whispered Jace softly. "They... managed to save my life, but she died. And my father... was a cold, abusive man. Every nice gesture of his was followed by some kind of repercussion. He... was a cult-leader, you know? You probably never heard of them, but they were a big deal in the early nineties. The Circle. My father was hiding from the FBI, so he home-schooled me, kept me away from society. The only people I knew as a child were Circle-members. That summer we met was the first time he actually... let me out, really. You were the first friend I ever made. You were the first to ever just be kind to me, without expecting something of me, or hurting me afterward. He sent me to that camp because he needed me out of the way while he was... reviving his little cult. A year later, the FBI uncovered him and I went into foster-care."

Jace had ever only told that story to four people in his life – Alec, Isabelle, Maia and Bat. But he wanted to tell Simon. He wanted for Simon to know Jace – the real Jace, all of Jace. He wanted for Simon to _understand_ him. He yelped startled as he was hugged tightly from behind. Blushing, he stared down at the arms around his waist. Simon had his face buried in between Jace's shoulders.

"Dude. No. That's... That's awful", whispered Simon, hugging him a little tighter. "And... And... can I ask how you came to live with the Lightwoods? I mean, no offense to your parents but they do not seem like the kind of people who'd just adopt an orphan out of the goodness of their hearts?"

A hoarse laugh escaped Jace's lips. "Yeah, Robert and Maryse _are_ strict. But they're good people. They love me and my siblings. But you're right... They didn't just wake up one morning and decided they wanted to adopt. The thing is, they're former Circle members. And they... They actually _helped_ the FBI uncover the Circle and take down my father. So they knew, they... saw me, being alone. Maybe they felt guilty or something, I don't know, but... They adopted me."

Simon hugged him a bit tighter and Jace found himself carefully leaning back against Simon. "I'm... I'm really sorry about this. All of it. That you went through this. But I'm... glad we met again. I promise I'll try to live up to the impossibly high standard you set by claiming I was the coolest person you ever met. Obviously, I _suck_ , because otherwise I would have recognized you on our first day and we'd have been inseparable best friends since then. So, I have amends to make."

"...Uhm... okay", nodded Jace, unsure of how to deal with this. "So, breakfast?"

"Ye—es", nodded Simon eagerly and reluctantly let go of Jace.

/break\

"I need a boyfriend", sighed Clary dramatically as she collapsed on the bench, next to Magnus.

"You can't have mine", stated Magnus firmly, one arm around Alec's neck.

Clary raised one eyebrow as she looked past Magnus at a now rather mortified looking Alec. "Yeah, no. You can keep that one, thank you. But do you have like... a backup, maybe?"

Alec shuddered and returned his attention onto the book he was trying to read. Clary Garroway and dating were two concepts Alec didn't want to think about in combination.

"Meliorn is currently single", drawled Magnus out thoughtfully.

"What about Simon?", inquired Lydia, not even bothering to look up from her book.

Most others at the table turned toward her at that. Jace did his best to keep from wincing. He really didn't need to think about Simon and Clary and their endgame romance.

"No", laughed Clary before bumping shoulders with Simon. "We tried that, but it didn't work out. We figured we're better off as friends. No hard feelings though."

"...Really?", asked Bat surprised. "I thought you two were totally dating."

"Haven't in a while", chuckled Clary and shook her head. "Been single for a while. Hence the despair. And with the Spring Formal coming up, I want a _date_. I want to dress up prettily, be taken out on a fancy dance and feel special, please. Can't remember the last time I got to dress up."

"You sound so old, girl", stated Maureen amused. "But Magnus, if you're in the business of finding boyfriends and dates – if you got a nice guy to spare, hand him my number."

"I feel flattered at the trust you people put in me", laughed Magnus amused. "What about you, Simon? I heard you had a... close encounter with Camille during the last Garroway-party?"

Simon stiffened surprised as everyone was suddenly looking at him. Clary gasped and hit him.

"You _what_? Why don't I know about that?!", exclaimed Clary. "How? When? _Why_?"

"Those are excellent questions", drawled Raphael, giving Simon a deadpan. "I would have truly thought Simon had better taste than _that_ , but then again..."

He slowly ran his eyes up and down Simon's body as though he was judging Simon's outfit. Jace faltered a little as he tried to focus on lunch. He did not need to hear that Simon was dating _Camille_ , of all people. Honestly, the only thing worse than that would be if Simon started dating Coach Aldertree. And ew. Okay, no lunch after all because there went his appetite. Disgusting image.

"I—I'm not dating Camille!", squeaked Simon defensively. "I have no idea what came over her on that party! Maybe she was too drunk, I don't know, but she suddenly kissed me! We haven't even spoken since then! And I don't _want_ to date Camille. I swear."

"Good judgment call", grunted Raphael in approval. "What about you, Lydia?"

"John Monteverde asked me out the other day", hummed Lydia, still reading.

"You didn't tell me", huffed Alec, elbowing his best friend.

"I didn't know if I would say 'yes'", shrugged Lydia casually. "But between you and Magnus, Raphael and Isabelle, Bat and Maia, Jace and... who is your current cheerleader? Is it still Kaelie? Either way, I wasn't going to go as the only single so I decided to say yes. Now that I know the single ladies have a club... Oh well, John is a nice guy, let's see where it goes."

"Kaelie?", echoed Simon as though it had been the only thing he had heard.

Jace looked up with a slight shrug. "We had kind of a thing. But it's over."

"Oh! So you're free and available then?", asked Maureen with a broad grin and a leer.

"That never lasts long", snorted Isabelle unimpressed.

/break\

Jace frowned as he was laying on Sebastian's stomach. Both of them were naked and covered in sweat. Sebastian was running his fingers through Jace's hair, but the other blonde often got entangled in the hair and tugged on it. Biting his lower lip, Jace turned to look at Sebastian.

"I want to take you out on a date", declared Sebastian when he noticed Jace's look.

"What...?", grunted Jace surprised, blinking slowly.

"A date. I know you're in the closet. We can be discreet about it, but we've been sneaking around for months now and I'm curious to see if we're capable of more than just sex", drawled Sebastian.

"...Okay", whispered Jace beneath his breath in utter disbelief.

"What?", grunted Sebastian with equal disbelief. "I thought I'd have to do more convincing."

"I'm so tired of only one-night-stands. The others already joke about what cheerleader number I'm on. I'm tired of playing up the playboy image to make sure no one knows I'm pan. Maybe... Maybe it's time to... come out. Talking about stuff I keep buried is oddly... freeing", admitted Jace.

And that was the truth. Talking to Simon about his past had helped him feel lighter. Maybe admitting who he was would help him even more. And it wasn't like he would get judgment from the people he cared about – Magnus and Alec weren't exactly on the down-low and no one who mattered gave them a hard time. Not to mention, now that Jace and Simon were friends, it really was time to move on from his stupid, ridiculous feelings for Simon. Because that friendship? Was fast becoming as important as it used to be – and Jace was _terrified_ of doing something to sabotage it and chase Simon off. Maybe if him and Seb would be an actual couple, he'd manage to move on from his feelings for Simon. It would definitely be a good start.

"Tomorrow, after practice. I'll pick you up, we catch a movie and dinner", declared Sebastian.

He had a pleased smile on his lips as he leaned in to kiss Jace. "We got a... date."

/break\

Simon had noticed it the moment Jace walked through the door in the morning. The blonde was fidgety. Nervous. It was such untypical behavior for Jace that it instantly had Simon worried. But he only got his answer when lunch rolled. The only ones who seemed to notice what was going on with Jace were Alec and Magnus, but neither of them said anything either.

"It's so—o hot today", sighed Clary, leaning against Isabelle. "How about we hit the lake today?"

"After school? That sounds like bliss", agreed Isabelle. "What do you say, guys?"

Maia, Bat and Maureen grunted in agreement, while Magnus nodded, Lydia and Alec made affirmative noises too and Raphael just smiled at his girlfriend in answer. The only one staying quiet, Simon noted, was Jace. Jace, whose fidgeting grew more intense at that.

"I'm all in", stated Simon, turning a bit more toward Jace. "What about you, Jace?"

"I... I can't", replied Jace, shaking his head a little. "I got a... date."

"A date?", echoed Alec surprised, closing his book and putting it aside. "With whom?"

And wow. Simon had never seen Alec and Lydia put their book aside. They usually always read, even while holding conversations. Sometimes, those two were _so scary_.

"Don't tell me", chimed Maia teasingly. "Is it... Gretel? She's been eyeing you for a while."

"It's...", started Jace, running a hand through his hair. "Sebastian."

"Sebastian as in Sebastian Garroway? As in _my brother_?", asked Clary slowly.

"Sebastian is a... guy", stated Bat lamely, blinking slowly. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that, bro, but I always thought if someone manged to turn you gay, it'd be _me_. I'm wounded."

Jace snorted and shook his head. "He's good, but he's not _that_ good. He didn't turn me gay. I'm... I'm pan. I've known that for a couple... years now."

"Called it", chimed Maia with a pleased grin, holding her hand out.

Isabelle heaved a sigh and handed over money. "I was _so_ sure he'd _tell_ me such a thing..."

"And I told you, he's too arrogant to deny more than half of humanity 'all of that'", smirked Maia.

"Why did it take you years to admit it?", inquired Lydia curiously. "We wouldn't have judged."

"It wasn't about you. It was about me", whispered Jace and shook his head, looking down at his hands. "My father was a... hateful man. He taught me, for many years, that those kind of desires are _wrong_ and made me _wrong_. And I've been... struggling with the things he taught me for years."

Alec offered Jace the smallest, proudest smile as the brothers looked at each other. Simon felt his heart beating fast in his throat. So Jace was now out in the open. But he was also... _dating_ Sebastian. Somehow, them sneaking around in closets had been easier to endure. Okay. Simon could do this. He could totally be strong and happy for Jace. This was good for his _friend_. A step into the right direction. Jace deserved to be true to himself and to be happy. With or without Simon.

/break\

This wasn't how Jace had pictured tonight to go. A part of him had hoped for this date to be some grand revelation that Jace could fall in love with Sebastian, forget all about Simon. Be simple.

"You didn't have fun", noted Sebastian with a small half-smile.

"We have _nothing_ in common, aside from sex", grunted Jace with a frown. "I mean, nothing. I hated that movie. Every time I opened my mouth to tell you something that is important to me, you blanked out. Every time you opened your mouth to tell me something that is important to you, I barely understood a word... or could bring myself to care."

"Agreed", hummed Sebastian, nodding slowly. "And every second sentence of yours starting with 'Simon this' and 'Simon that' did not particularly help, Jace."

There was no accusation behind the words, no real bite. But a certain degree of bitterness. Jace averted his eyes in guilt. Sebastian chuckled as he cupped Jace's cheek to make him look up.

"It's alright, Jace", assured Sebastian. "We have... brilliant sexual chemistry, but... nothing beyond that. That's not a problem. I'm glad we tried, it answered a lot of questions that would have stood unanswered. But perhaps it's time we also stopped having sex."

"Man, must have been the worst first date in history", chuckled Jace teasingly.

Sebastian's eyes softened as he shook his head. "You spoke of Simon so often... Go after him. Stop trying to distract yourself with me, or others. You're not a coward, Jace. Face the music."

Jace bit his lips and nodded slowly, avoiding eye-contact with the other blonde. "Can't."

"Why not?", asked Sebastian, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the door of his home. "You've never been shy. You weren't shy about me either. What's so special about Lewis?"

For a very long moment, Jace just stared at him, stared at him and tried to figure out what to say, but in the end he found himself caving in because Sebastian clearly already know that Jace was too far gone to care anyway. " _Everything_ , Seb. Everything about Simon is special. He's the kindest, sweetest, most caring and generous person I ever met. He was... He was kind to me when _no one else cared_. And when I thought he didn't care anymore, he was still so amazing. He has the cutest smile and brightest laugh and those warm eyes and he's so hot. Not just nerd-hot. Just generally hot-hot. And then... he actually _does_ still care. And listens to me in a way that makes me feel more understood than ever before, if that makes sense. He's... everything good and beautiful."

"...You think you're not good enough for him", stated Sebastian in stunned realization, gaping at Jace. "You think Simon Lewis is too much out of your league to even try. Wow."

Jace shrugged, hands deep in his pockets as he avoided looking at Sebastian. "Let's not get into it."

"It's your choice", shrugged Sebastian, one eyebrow raised. "But personally, I think you're being ridiculous there. Well, I hope things work out for you, dear."

He placed an innocent kiss on Jace's cheek before unlocking the door and entering.

/break\

Simon's eyes were so large, Clary feared they'd fall out any second now. Though Clary herself had a hand clasped over her mouth to keep from squealing as the two best friends were hiding just beneath Clary's open bedroom window. The window right above the front door. The front door where Sebastian and Jace had just said goodbye after their first date.

Simon had gone home with Clary after their day at the lake, a promise of comfort food and lots of ice-cream and Simon's favorite movies to get over the fact that Jace was on an official date with Sebastian. Due to how stuffy the air inside was, Clary had opened her window. And when Sebastian and Jace had approached the house, their voices carried. At first, Clary had meant to close the window to save Simon the pain. But then it sounded like a breakup and Clary's curiosity got the better from her. The things Jace had said afterward though...

"Clary. I must have had a heat-stroke", whispered Simon with a gulp. "I have really, really intense audio hallucinations. I hear things. Impossible things."

"If you heard Jace confessing his love for you and my brother figuring out that Jace Lightwood thinks you're too good for him, then we have the same kinda heat-stroke", stated Clary.

"Holy shit", muttered Simon wide-eyed.

"Holy shit", agreed Clary stunned. "What... are you going to do now?"

"I need Magnus Bane. And Izzy", stated Simon seriously.

"...What?", grunted Clary confused.

"Maureen and you too", added Simon. "I need to put together the _perfect_ way to ask the boy of my dreams out to the ball. I need Disney dazzle. It needs to be completely perfect."

"Okay. Okay. That sounds like a good plan", nodded Clary amused.

/break\

Jace was horny and bored. But that was what he got for failing at casual sex with Seb Garroway. He groaned loudly, a little miserably, as he kept staring up at the ceiling. He was _so_ bored.

"He—ey. Your siblings said you've been pouty all day."

Frowning, Jace rolled over onto his side to look at a very cheerful Simon. "Hey, Si. What's up?"

The cheerful smile faltered just a little as Simon seemed to think something through. Raising one eyebrow, Jace slowly sat up, motioning for Simon to join him. Jace couldn't help but blush a little as the boy he's been pathetically in love for years sat down on Jace's bed.

"Okay. I've... thought this through. I brainstormed this with my girls and Magnus. I came up with like two dozen different options and one was more extravagant than the other", started Simon slowly. "But... But the more I thought about it, the more it felt like those loud, extravagant gestures would only distract from the... honesty of what I'm trying to say."

"Simon? You're not making sense", pointed Jace out, slowly growing very confused.

Simon smiled at him so warmly that Jace felt himself relax some more, the urge to just lean into Simon and soak up all that warmth becoming nearly overwhelming. The nerd tilted his head as he reached out to cup Jace's cheek, startling the blonde a little.

"I love you", whispered Simon softly. "I've had a very superficial giant crush on you for being so gorgeous and cute and seeing you play at the games. But ever since you told me that you're _my_ Jonathan Wayland and we became friends and you opened up to me... I fell so hard for you that it left me bruised black and blue. I love you and I wanted to ask you out on a date because I'd love to be your boyfriend and maybe if our date goes better than yours and Sebastian's, we could... go to the Spring Formal together. But only if that's something you'd want too."

"You... love... me?", whispered Jace surprised, eyes large. "But..."

Simon also reached his other hand out to cup Jace's face fully and slowly bring his face closer. "I am in love with you, Jace Lightwood. I love talking to you and cheering you on during your games and I love playing for you and how you just... stare at me like I'm the biggest star already even though I know my music is more like... mediocre-"

"You're amazing", interrupted Jace with a glare. "And your voice is beautiful."

"And that's also what I love about you", laughed Simon happily. "You... make me feel special. And I want to make you feel special too, because you're _so amazing_ , Jace. I love you. What do you say?"

"...Are you... sure?", asked Jace surprised, searching Simon's face for an indication of doubt.

"Please. It'd make me the happiest guy on the planet if I'd get to call you my boyfriend", confirmed Simon. "We don't have to tell anyone until you're comfortable. We don't even need to go to the stupid Spring Formal, if that's too public for you. I just want... to be with you."

Jace reached out and grasped Simon's neck, pulling him into a slow kiss. "Yes."

/break\

Their first date was a huge success. They went to a small ratty-looking place called Taki's Diner where Jace _swore_ they served the best food in all of New York, where they shared about half the menu because Simon was so curious to try it all. And Jace was very happy to introduce them to Simon; the ones that made him gasp and moan at how good they were and the ones that made him turn green because they weren't after his taste. And considering they had plans to go see _Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2_ after dinner, they spent their meal animatedly talking about the movies.

"I was so sure Captain America would be your favorite superhero. But then again, he just looks like you. That shouldn't mean much", chuckled Simon, watching Jace steal a curly fry.

"Why?", mumbled Jace around his fry. "You totally look like Superman and you _are_."

"I'm not! What are you talking about?", sputtered Simon embarrassed, blushing.

"The glasses", started Jace, motioning at them with a curly fry in his hand. "And the soft, silky dark hair that always sits perfectly. And the charming, innocent smile. But behind the harmless nerd, you're hiding a real superhero who's ready to save everyone. You're my Superman."

Simon's face was ready to explode at the compliments and without thinking about it, Jace leaned over and pecked Simon's lips gently. Because that was now something Jace could do.

Even for the rest of their date, they never ran out of something to talk about, continuously edging each other on into more laughter and excitement. They spent the whole movie whispering to each other and fanboying over Chris Pratt. And even after the movie, they couldn't seem to part, so they went on a walk through the park together, lingering at a bridge and staring down into the water.

"So... is this date... better than your first date with Sebastian?", asked Simon nervously.

"First of all; Don't ask about the ex during a date", snorted Jace, both eyebrows raised in amusement. "And secondly... Yeah. Totally. I kinda don't want it to end. With Seb, it was so awkward and honestly, I would have been fine leaving after an hour. We just... didn't have anything in common aside from the sex. Which I'm not having with him anymore, just so you know."

Simon nodded, smiling a little as he slowly leaned in for a kiss. Ducking his head, Jace met him half-way and they kissed slowly and deeply, Jace's hand entangled in Simon's hair.

/break\

Clary's eyes were sharp as she watched Simon very closely. It had been a week now since they had discovered Jace's feelings for him. And Simon had shot down every single idea Clary, Maureen and Magnus had come up with concerning the how to get together aspect of things. Lately, Simon had been oddly quiet about the topic of Jace in general. It got the redhead suspicious.

They were sitting together in the cafeteria during lunch, as every day. Though today they were planning the Spring Formal, which was in less than a week. Magnus had offered to pay for a stretch-limo (the one thing his rich, absent father was good for) for them all and they were trying to figure out in what order they needed to be picked up that made the most sense and who would go with whom. Not to mention; the girls tried to match their outfits.

"John is going to pick me up personally, so you guys will share the limo alone", stated Lydia.

"So things with John are going good?", asked Isabelle with a teasing grin.

Lydia leveled a look at her. "Yes. He's very charming and sweet. Now back to your planning."

"It makes sense if the limo picks the Lightwoods up first, since they're three so the first one doesn't have to drive alone", drawled Magnus thoughtfully. "I live the closest so I'll be the first one to see my gorgeous date all dressed up. Mh, Alexander in a tux..."

Alec groaned a little embarrassed and covered his eyes with a hand. "Okay, okay. Fine. Next closest to us, if Lyd doesn't come along... Raphael, right?"

Isabelle and Raphael nodded in confirmation, before Maia took over. "Then me. Maureen and Clary already planned on coming to my place to get ready, so you can just pick all of us up together. Then Simon and Bat. That's... all. Unless we got to drop by the Garroways for _Sebastian_ after all."

She turned to look at Jace with both eyebrows raised with silent judgment. "No. Seb and I haven't seen each other in weeks. That was a one date disaster. Also, I think he's seeing Kieran now."

"Okay", hummed Isabelle slowly. "Is there... someone else we should pick up for you then?"

"Yes! Who else got a date we need to pick up? Jace? Clary? Maureen? Simon?", asked Magnus with flourish. "We do need to finish the list of addresses for the driver."

"Clary and I demanded that we will go together as strong, independent women who don't need a man", declared Maureen. "And then we'll hope to find something nice at the dance."

Maureen and Clary high-fived with broad grins, while Simon leaned back some in an attempt to be overlooked by Magnus because he didn't know the answer to that. Him and Jace had gone on five dates already and each one felt more perfect than the one before. But they hadn't talked about the Spring Formal yet, not since the day they had first kissed and agreed to go on a date together.

"My date's already on the list, so I'm covered", hummed Jace and ducked his head, grinning.

Simon's head snapped up to stare at him, while everyone else looked various degrees of confused. Jace caught his lower lip between his teeth and searched for Simon's eyes, a little unsure.

"I... I mean, if you'd like still want to go with me", drawled Jace, ruffling his hair.

"Yes! Yes, of course! Of course do I want to!", exclaimed Simon excitedly.

"...How... When... What is going on here?", asked Maia surprised, both eyebrows raised before she zoomed in on Jace. "Listen up, Lightwood, you might be my best friend, but I like Simon more than you so if you're just using him to get over the lesser Garroway, I'll gut you."

"It... was more like the other way around", muttered Jace embarrassed, shifting a little. "I used Sebastian to get over Simon. But that was a failure. And... then Si asked me out."

Maia hummed and narrowed her eyes before turning to Simon. "Listen up, Lewis, I might like you better, but Jace is my best friend, so if you hurt him, I will gut you."

"...I feel like she just really wants to gut someone", laughed Maureen amused.

"Ye—eah. That's my girl", grinned Bat broadly, kissing Maia's cheek fondly.

/break\

That evening, Alec found his way into Jace's bedroom, arms crossed over his chest as he regarded the blonde thoughtfully. Jace was laying on his bed, texting on his phone with a broad smile on his lips. If Alec had to guess, he'd say Jace was texting with Simon.

"So, you and Simon Lewis", stated Alec casually.

Jace looked up from his phone. "Uhm. Yeah. I... wanted to tell you, but I was kind of afraid that it might break the spell and if Simon realized that it wasn't working out, I'd have to tell you that too. But with the Spring Formal coming close, I... I was feeling selfish. I really want to go with him. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I kinda decided on a whim today to ask him. Even if it was totally unromantic and I should have done it differently. Damn."

"Jace. It was fine. He was over the moon and back", snorted Alec amused. "And I'm okay. You didn't _have_ to tell me first. I get it. I kept Magnus to myself at first too."

Jace smiled and sat up. "I... think this thing with Si is actually... working out."

"Yeah?", asked Alec with a small, fond smile as he sat down next to Jace.

"Yeah", nodded Jace and grinned a little. "He's so cute and sweet. And every time we go out, I just... I don't want it to end? I could listen to him all day long. And he says the stupidest sweet things about me? It's so... He makes me happy, Alec. Really happy."

"Good", smiled Alec, ruffling Jace's hair. "That means Maia and I don't have to gut him."

"You better not", grunted Jace protectively.

/break\

Simon was vastly uncomfortable in the fancy tux that he had bought when Magnus and Raphael forced him to go clothes shopping for the Spring Formal (with Magnus' father paying the tab). His shirt was dark-red to match Jace's – or so he was told – and so was the rose in his button-hole.

"You look so handsome", smiled Elaine pleased as she took pictures.

"He looks like a penguin", snorted Rebecca next to her.

"Thanks, sis", grumbled Simon with a glare.

"And will we meet that special boy of yours tonight?", asked Elaine when she took another picture just to make sure. "You've been talking about him so much."

Simon groaned embarrassed and when the doorbell rang, he wanted to bolt off to open it. But Rebecca was faster than him and opened the door to a fidgety blonde. Simon looked past his sister at his gorgeous, beautiful blonde. Jace's hair was falling into his face freely, the tailored tux fitting him to a T, the red shirt and rose matching Simon's and bringing out Jace's bright eyes.

"You must be Jace", declared Rebecca with a broad grin.

"Yeah. We already met, Becky", nodded Jace. "At the summer camp. Jonathan."

"You're the little shit who kept getting into trouble before I literally tied Simon to your foot", laughed Rebecca in realization. "Wow. Well, this wasn't what I expected to be the outcome of that."

"He's still a little shit", called Bat out of the limo.

"And he still keeps getting into trouble", added Maia loudly.

"I hate my friends", muttered Jace red-cheeked.

"Mom, Becky, that's my _boyfriend_ , Jace Lightwood. Please stop embarrassing me. Or him", stated Simon as he pushed past his sister with a glare. "Hello, angel. You look... stunning."

"You don't look so shabby yourself, Superman", grinned Jace, leaning in a little before pausing.

His eyes darted over to Elaine and Rebecca a bit unsure. Simon leaned in and kissed Jace.

"That one is going up the wall", declared Elaine as she took a picture of the kissing boys. "Now turn here and smile for the camera, will you two?"

"Uhm. Hello, Missus Lewis, it's nice to meet you", offered Jace while adjusting his tie.

Simon wrapped an arm around Jace's waist as they smiled into the camera. Elaine smiled pleased as she took a couple of pictures of how Simon and Jace held each other and smiled into the camera.

"Oh, don't be silly. It's Elaine, please", offered Elaine. "And now go and have a nice evening!"

"Yes, ma'am", grinned Jace, linking arms with Simon and tugging him along.

They went to join their friends in the stretch-limo. The girls looked absolutely stunning in their gowns and the boys... Well. Magnus looked eccentric as always, Raphael kind of looked like a mafioso in his tux and Alec looked wildly uncomfortable. Simon grinned knowingly.

/break\

The evening was a full success. Simon and Jace spent so much time on the dance-floor that their feet were hurting and their heads were spinning. Occasionally, they switched partners – Jace dancing with Clary and Simon dancing with Maureen when the girls were fed up with the boys hitting on them, or Jace danced with Bat while Simon danced with Maia. Generally, all of them were having a really good time. Even though Simon could hear the shocked whispers about Jace Lightwood, the golden boy, openly dancing with and kissing Simon Lewis, the uninteresting nerd whose greatest achievement so far had been to befriend Magnus and Raphael. Now he had the star-player and pitcher of the baseball-team hanging off his neck, staring into Simon's eyes as though Simon was the most important person on this entire planet.

"I love you, angel", whispered Simon softly, arms around Jace's waist as they swayed softly.

"Love you too, Superman", grinned Jace and leaned up to peck Simon's lips.

"Urgh. You two are gonna be one of those disgustingly cute couples that are all over each other. Like Magnus and Alec", groaned Maia next to them teasingly.

"Excuse me. Our cuteness is not disgusting, it's perfect", argued Magnus undignified.

Magnus glared at Maia and tightened his grip on Alec's waist, the archer looking highly embarrassed. Jace grinned teasingly at his brother as he rested his cheek against Simon's chest, listening to his boyfriend's heartbeat. He had never been as happy as he was in that moment. With all their friends and his siblings happy around them and Simon in his arms.

"Can we go outside for a bit?", whispered Jace softly, nosing Simon's neck.

"Anything you want", chuckled Simon, nose buried in Jace's hair.

The two of them sneaked out of the gym over to the hill where both of them collapsed onto the ground. Simon had his arms spread out widely and Jace found himself cuddled up to his side, resting his head on Simon's chest. Both of them stared up into the night sky, watching the stars and the moon in companionable silence, Simon gently carding his fingers through Jace's hair.

After not too long, the others poured out of the gym too to join them. Simon spread his free arm out in invitation and his best friend Clary took it to lay down on Simon's free shoulder, Maureen laying down next to her. Magnus and Alec sat just above them, Alec half in Magnus' lap. Lydia and John were whispering softly as they sat down next to Magnus and Alec. Raphael and Isabelle looked more like they should go and get a hotel room as they sat down, heavily making out. Bat and Maia laid down on Jace's other side. It was quiet and peaceful as they all had their attention on the sky above them. A small smile played on Jace's lips when he turned to look at his friends.

Simon had been his first friend. The first one to be kind to him. Sometimes, Jace couldn't even relate to that life of isolation, fear, pain and loneliness anymore. In moments like right now, when he was surrounded by all those people he cared about. The people who were kind to him, who were his family and friends. He would never be able to put into words how much moments like these meant to him, how important they were. Hiding the growing smile in Simon's neck, Jace placed a gentle kiss on his boyfriend's jaw. Simon huffed out a laugh as he turned a little so he could get a proper kiss. In moments like these, Jace's past was a far-away memory, overshadowed by happiness.

/break\

"Si. Stop pacing. You're more nervous than _I_ am", stated Jace fondly.

"I can't help it!", huffed Simon as he continued pacing Jace's bedroom. "Your parents said there's gonna be a college scout at the game tomorrow and it's for the college _I_ want to attend! If you get a scholar ship, that would be _so amazing_ and if the two of us could get to attend the same college-"

"Du—ude. Slow down before you buy a house with a white picket-fence for us", laughed Jace.

He got up and wrapped his arms Simon's shoulders to pull him down into a soothing kiss. Sure, Maryse and Robert had told him that there would be a scout at the game and yes, it would be _amazing_ if he got to attend college with Simon, but freaking out wasn't going to help anyone.

"Sorry", muttered Simon sheepishly, ducking his head. "I just... want _us_ to last."

Jace's heart jumped at that and he hid his smile in Simon's neck. "I want that too, Si."

"If the two of you are done being cute, would you want to join us for family night?", asked Izzy.

Both boys turned toward the amused Lightwood-sister. Grinning at her, Jace and Simon followed her to the living room. Lightwood Musketeer Nights had been reestablished and they were watching _Buffy_ together. Significant others were also invited for the sake of Max getting all his siblings into one room, and if he was being honest he really liked his siblings' boyfriends. Especially Simon.

"Okay, we got drinks, chocolate, popcorn. I think we're all set", declared Alec.

He was curled up against Magnus, with his feet in Magnus' lap. Max sat next to Alec and Jace took Max's other side, while Raphael sat next to Magnus. Isabelle went to get comfortable on her boyfriend's lap. Jace grinned and ruffled Max's hair as Alec handed over the popcorn to Max.

"Shouldn't you be training for tomorrow?", asked Max worried, looking at Jace.

"Nah. Family night is family night", declared Jace with a broad grin. "Besides, I'm already the best in the state _anyway_. So why try to improve perfection?"

"And so humble", chuckled Magnus amused.

Jace smirked and winked at Magnus. "You know it, Mag."

They all settled in comfortably and Jace completely enjoyed curling up against Simon while being able to joke around with his siblings. Those kind of nights were definitely the best. Simon was running his fingers through Jace's hair in a soothing, gentle way.

/break\

"Jace!", called Simon out as he entered the locker room.

He blushed as he saw his half-naked boyfriend. Half-naked Jace was absolutely delicious. And even though the two of them had been dating for two months now, half-naked was the most he had seen of Jace so far. Though he _really_ wanted more. And so did Jace, Simon knew that. The two just were too awkward to move things along and they never really had the privacy to do more, even though they had actively _tried_ for two weeks now. But between all of the Lightwoods at Jace's place and Simon's mom and sister at the Lewis' house, it was kind of hard. Not tonight though.

"Hey, babe", grinned Jace pleased, pulling Simon into a kiss. "Came to wish me luck?"

"Yeah. Came to motivate you", whispered Simon as he leaned in for a second kiss. "If you win tonight's game, I thought we could... celebrate. Just, uh, you and me. At my place. Because mom went to visit bubbeh Helen and Becky already said she would spend the night at her boyfriend's. Which means we'd have like the entire house to ourselves. I mean. If you wan-"

"Fuck, _yes_ ", hissed Jace before pulling Simon into a far more passionate kiss. "Finally. I've been feeling blue-balled for weeks now. Ye—es. I am _definitely_ going to win this game."

"Ah. Someone is going to get laid after the game", nodded Bat in realization as he watched Jace's enthusiastic reaction to whatever Simon had just whispered. "Great. Now get out and stop distracting my pitcher, Lewis! I don't need him to think with his dick during the game!"

Simon blushed and ran out, not before wishing them all luck. He returned to join Maia, Maureen, Clary, Magnus and Alec on the stands. Him and the girls had drawn a giant sign for Bat and Jace. Even though it was pretty chilly and windy tonight, they cheered so loudly and were so enthralled by the game that they barely noticed. All Simon had eyes for was his gorgeous jock of a boyfriend. That outfit, honestly. Way too sexy on Jace. He _definitely_ wanted to get laid tonight.

And, unsurprisingly enough, their team won the game. Because no one beat the Idris Shadowhunters, they were the best baseball-team around. As the game ended, Maia made her way to her boyfriend and she pulled Simon right along with her, even though he was protesting. Once he found himself in Jace's arms, he was glad she had dragged him here, because Jace was excited and euphoric and kissed him like his life depended on it.

"We won", declared Jace as he whirled Simon around.

"Ye—eah, you did", grinned Simon, kissing Jace. "I'm totally proud of you, angel."

"Lightwood, let's hit the shower. You can kiss the boyfriend later", called Bat amused.

Jace grinned and ducked his head. "You gonna wait for me?"

"Sure. Of course", grinned Simon, a giant smile on his lips. "And then I get to take you home?"

"Oh yes", replied Jace, his grin growing.

/break\

They kissed passionately on the way upstairs, losing clothes on the way to Simon's room. It wasn't the fastest or most efficient way to get to Simon's bed, but they both didn't care. Simon moaned into their kiss as he cupped Jace's far too firm and round butt. Jace hissed, tugging on the last remaining clothes on Simon's body – his boxers. Pushing Jace onto the bed, Simon pulled them off himself. Jace gulped hard and licked his lips as he he reached out for Simon to pull him close.

"Damn", whispered Jace hoarsely, eyes dark with hunger.

Simon blushed brightly as he started fidgeting with the condoms and lube he had bought yesterday. His blush lit up even more at the fond grin on Jace's face. The blonde pulled his boyfriend into another deep, passionate kiss. His hands greedily wandered all over Simon's chest, tracing his slightly defined sixpack and chest, down to grasp the other boy's cock.

"God, you were so _amazing_ ", whispered Simon in awe as he kissed down Jace's neck. "So _amazing_. You completely annihilated the other team. Your pitching was so on point, I think you'd have been able to hit a fly five miles ahead right on point, babe. You were _so good_."

Jace whimpered in a broken way as he went nearly boneless beneath his boyfriend, pupils blown wide. Simon blinked stunned at the needy sound. Gulping, Simon admired how beautiful Jace was. Jace blinked slowly, blush darkening as he turned his head in embarrassment.

"Uhm... yeah... I...", muttered Jace, ruffling his own hair.

"You like... being praised?", guessed Simon slowly, still blinking.

"...Yeah", sighed Jace, closing his eyes and burying his face in his hands. "We can go into the depths of my psychological childhood trauma and how I constantly seek validation, o—or you could just fuck me and we never talk about this again?"

"Can we agree on a middle-ground?", asked Simon gently, placing a soft kiss on Jace's hands. "We have sex now and tomorrow, we talk about the depth of your psychological childhood trauma?"

Groaning, Jace took the lube from Simon and glared. "Sure. Whatever. Now fuck me, will you?"

Simon gulped hard, getting lost in Jace's eyes. His heart was racing. This was something he had dreamed about for two years now and here they were, Jace and Simon, naked in Simon's bed.

"I love you so much", whispered Simon softly before kissing Jace gently.

"Love you too, Si", replied Jace. "Now, do you... uhm... have you ever... with a guy?"

"With a guy? No", grunted Simon and shook his head, cheeks red. "I've had a couple crushes on guys before, but you're my first boyfriend."

"Okay", hummed Jace, uncapping the lube and lubing up his own fingers. "So... How about you let me do this for now and watch for the next time? That okay?"

Simon nodded sharply and sat back, watching with intense eyes how Jace slipping his fingers down his own body, spreading his cheeks and offering Simon a perfect view on Jace's tight, pink hole. Simon's face turned dark-red as he watched how the long, elegant fingers slipped into the tight hole. Gulping hard, Simon started lazily jerking his own cock as he watched how Jace prepped himself.

"Shit, you're way too gorgeous", whispered Simon in awe. "So, so _gorgeous_. All for me. Prepping yourself so well for me, you're so good, Jace."

"F—Fuck", groaned Jace as he worked three fingers into his hole. "S—Stop talking, Si!"

"No. Why?", asked Simon confused. "You whimper in a really cute way when I praise you. And I totally approve of praising you like all the time, angel. You're so gorgeous and perfect and beautiful and I totally _adore_ you, love. My gorgeous, amazing boyfriend who's the best pitcher in the entire US and is totally gonna hit the major league and sweep them all off their feet."

Jace flushed as he whimpered again, brushing his own prostate as he prepped himself. Pulling his fingers out, he stared longingly at Simon, licking his lips in hunger. Simon caught on and rolled one of the condoms over his cock, eagerly climbing in between Jace's legs.

"You're so beautiful", whispered Simon gently, kissing Jace's cheek. "My beautiful, amazing boyfriend. Who is a total badass and destroyed the Circle Institute, because he's the badest badass and most amazing pitcher and _so good_ , for me especially."

Jace mewled softly, embarrassed by the sound as he pulled Simon closer. Simon grinned pleased as he watched his boyfriend essentially melt beneath him. This was way too hot to be true. That he could make Jace look like that and sound like that, just with words? That Simon's praise was worth that much to Jace? It did make Simon really proud.

"You were _so amazing_ out there", whispered Simon as he very slowly pushed into his lover. "F—Fuck. So good. Even when the coach was being an asshole again, you were all professional and awesome and you kicked the enemy's butt. Showed them who the strongest Shadowhunter is."

Jace had his eyes closed, just soaking up the praise and sweet words from his boyfriend as he got to _finally_ experience what it felt like to have Simon inside of him. The nerd was so gentle and careful, it was adorable. Jace had his arms wrapped tightly around Simon's neck, clinging onto him until Simon bottomed out. They kissed deeply and slowly as Simon waited for Jace to adjust.

"I love you, I love you so much, love you, nerd", chanted Jace desperately as he tried to urge Simon on into properly fucking him. "Come on, please. Fuck me, Si, I wanted this for _so long_ now."

"Me too, angel, me too", groaned Simon as he rolled his hips slowly. "Fuck. So tight. You feel so good, babe, this is amazing. You're amazing. We're amazing."

Jace laughed softly. "You're such a dork, Lewis."

"Yeah, sure, anything you say, angel", grunted Simon with a broad grin.

He started thrusting in a slow pace. It took a while for them to find a good rhythm and by then, Simon was already clumsily jerking Jace off. Not that Jace minded. Just generally having Simon's hands on his dick was way too amazing. Jace's fingers were buried in the curls at the back of Simon's neck, playing with them absentmindedly while Simon was fucking him deep and slow.

"I—I'm close, Si", moaned Jace.

"Then come, you totally deserve it. You were _so good_ today and I promised you sex and you totally deserve like the best orgasm in history for how great you played today, babe", grinned Simon.

With a broken whimper did Jace come into his lover's awaiting hand. Simon groaned lowly at the feeling of Jace's muscles contorting around him. With his face buried deep in Jace's neck, Simon bit down hard on said neck as he too came, too overwhelmed by his orgasm. Jace gasped in a strangled manner when Simon came and also bit him like that.

"F—Fuck. Wow. Damn. Yes", panted Simon as he rode his orgasm out. "Wow. So much wow."

"All the wow", agreed Jace breathlessly, collapsing back onto his bed. "Also, ouch. Didn't take you for a vampire, Lewis. That's gonna leave a giant hickey tomorrow."

He gently traced the place Simon had just bitten. Simon ducked his head sheepishly, blush on his cheeks. He leaned in to gently kiss the spot before pulling out of Jace, rolling the condom off and tossing it into his trash-bin. Sighing contently, Simon laid down next to his boyfriend.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bite you. I was just...", drawled Simon embarrassed.

"It's okay. I might start calling you a vampire now though", drawled Jace teasingly.

He rolled over to snuggle up to Simon. Grinning, Simon buried his nose in Jace's hair.

"You really were totally amazing, babe. I'm sure you got the scholar ship and then you'll rock college baseball and _then_ you'll join the major league and be this huge, giant star player and I get to hang out with all the player wives and cheer you on", mused Simon pleased.

Jace bit his lower lip really hard as his grin threatened to split his face at the thought of that kind of future with Simon. Closing his eyes, Jace slowly drifted off to sleep with that image in mind.

/break\

Simon was the first one of them to wake up, a bright smile instantly finding its way onto his lips as he looked over at his boyfriend. Jace had his cheek resting on Simon's chest, one leg thrown over Simon's, his arm curled possessively around Simon's chest. Jace was clinging onto him like he was afraid of Simon just disappearing. Grinning in a dorky way, Simon kissed the top of Jace's head. The buzzing of Jace's phone interrupted the peaceful moment.

"Urgh. Stupid siblings", groaned Jace as he slowly woke up.

Without opening his eyes, he started patting along next to him to find his phone. Smiling amused, Simon took the phone off the nightstand and pushed it under Jace's hand. That gave the blonde pause and Jace opened his eyes to look up at his boyfriend. Jace blinked a couple of times before the broadest smile lit up his entire face in a way that dazzled Simon.

"He—ey. Boyfriend", grinned Jace and leaned in to kiss Simon.

"Morning, angel", smiled Simon as the two of them got more comfortable.

Jace snuggled up to Simon while checking his phone. From his position with his chin on Jace's shoulder, Simon could read the texts too. He thought it was really cute that the four Lightwoods called their group-chat the _Lightwood Musketeers_.

 _Alec: Told mom & dad you crashed at Bat's after the after-party. Be back before dinner though._

 _Max: And say hi to Simon for me! Bring him home with you! I bought the new game._

"Bat's been covering for me", grinned Jace pleased. "Best catcher I could wish for."

"Oh, can I come home with you later?", asked Simon with pleading eyes. "Me and Max have been dying to try that game since it's been announced."

"Su—ure, babe", chuckled Jace fondly, kissing Simon's cheek.

"So—o. Can we talk about... the whole childhood trauma thing now?", asked Simon reluctantly.

Jace sighed softly and rested his forehead against Simon's forehead. "You... know about my father. He always... Nothing I ever did was good enough and every time I disappointed him, he would... punish me. When I came to the Lightwoods, I... it was the first time I had someone be genuinely proud of what I did. But it's still.. I've never been able to shake that feeling that I _have_ to be the best at everything. And you _probably_ know our nickname at school – the Big Three. That's... not really helping. There's _a lot_ of pressure on all three of us. And just... just _hearing_ that I am... good. It helps. Makes me feel special. Especially when it's coming from you. Your opinion... matters so much to me, Si. So yeah, I _kinda_ have a thing for you praising me."

"Will remember that", grinned Simon pleased, nose buried in golden hair.

"Well, that looks like I should have brought more bagels."

Both boys turned to stare wide-eyed and red-cheeked at Elaine Lewis. Simon's mother stood in the doorway with both her eyebrows raised and a half-amused expression on her face. Simon squeaked and pulled the blanket all the way up under both their noses, trying to hide Jace.

"M—Mother!", exclaimed Simon panicked. "I—I thought you..."

"I returned home early. And I brought breakfast. So... once you boys got dressed, you could join me downstairs for breakfast", stated Elaine before heading downstairs.

Ten minutes later found two very embarrassed and flustered teens sitting opposite Simon's mother.

"Look, mom, uhm... I...", drawled Simon flustered.

"Simon, you're both seventeen. I remember what being seventeen was like. I know I can't _forbid_ you from having sex and, quite frankly, I prefer for you to do it here rather than in a car somewhere in a parking lot", sighed Elaine, rubbing her forehead. "Just... You're being safe, right?"

"Yes", groaned Simon, ready to be swallowed alive by the ground.

"Good. Now, let's _never_ talk about your sex-life again", suggested Elaine. "How was the game?"

"Great", replied Jace, gladly taking the bait. "We won. Of course."

"And there was a college scout! Because of Jace. So he's going to make a big career", tagged Simon on, looking all the proud boyfriend he was. "One day, he's gonna pitch for some big-name team and I'll be cheering him on the loudest from the front row."

/A house with a white picket-fence in Los Angeles, ten years later\

Simon grinned as he sat decidedly too close to his TV. He was wearing a Dodgers jersey and cap and scarf, watching the game closely and with bated breath. The game ended and _of course_ did the Dodgers win. How could they not with the best pitcher in the history of ever?

"Jace! How does it feel to lead your team into another victorious season?", asked a journalist in the post-game interview, smiling at the clearly exhausted Jace who still returned her smile.

"Well, did you expect anything else?", asked Jace with a cocky grin and a win. "And how could I not? I can't disappoint my fans, after all. Especially not my three biggest fans who are right now sitting in front of the TV even though two out of three are supposed to be napping right now."

"Oh, is daddy talking bout us, papa?", asked the little boy on Simon's right.

"Course, doofus, who else?", chided the little girl on Simon's left.

"Leah, don't call your brother a doofus", chided Simon, unable to tear his eyes off from his husband. "And yes, Lush, he's talking about us. Let's send him a photo and congratulate?"

The two blonde little angels crowded in with Simon so he could take a picture of himself with their twins and send it to Jace with a large _CONGRATULATION!_. After that, he took the kids upstairs and to their bedrooms to tuck them in for the nap Jace had just pointed out. By the time Leah and Lush were in their beds, Simon's phone buzzed, displaying Jace's caller ID – a picture of Jace with the twins, all three of them smiling brightly into the camera. Grinning, Simon picked up.

"Hey there, best pitcher and husband on the planet", grinned Simon. "You were amazing."

"Thanks. I miss you. And the twins", sighed Jace softly. "I wish you'd be here with me."

"Me too", replied Simon gently. "But someone's gotta watch our little angels. We'll be right here, waiting for you to get home. Just do your best and kick butt. I love you."

"Love you too, Si. Kiss the twins from me", replied Jace, voice gentle and loving.

"Always, babe. Can't wait for you to get home to us again", grinned Simon.

 _~*~ The End ~*~_

* * *

 _Author's note: Well, this was a bit of a wild ride that just did whatever it wanted *tilts head* I just had way too much fun with this world to make it short, I guess *chuckles and ducks head* Also, the Jace/Bat-friendship just gives me life at this point, like, I love it.  
_


End file.
